


Vegeta is a Cool Dad

by MrsSonBreigh



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Eventual Sex, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Homophobic Language, Lime, Love at First Sight, M/M, Pride, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-12-24 21:06:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12021003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsSonBreigh/pseuds/MrsSonBreigh
Summary: Vegeta struggles to handle his rebellious teenage son to the point that he turns to an old friend for advice. He learns some things about his son that help him be a Cool Dad.





	1. Chapter 1

More muffled sounds come from my sons room, white and red light flooding from under the doorjamb. I sigh. It's half two in the morning. I trudge over to the door, knocking on it lightly.

"FINISH HIM!"

I hear some gross crunching noises. I cringe.

"JAX WINS! FATALITY!"

His television seems to be too loud for him to hear me. I knock harder.

"Fuck off, dad."

I close my eyes. I'm too tired to deal with this shit right now.

"Vegeta! If you're not going to turn it off then turn it down. You're gonna wake the whole neighborhood if you keep it up."

"Fuck the neighborhood." He turns it up.

I give up. Walking back to my own room, I decide to talk to my long-time friend tomorrow to see if he could have any advice to help.

Half eleven in the morning. Vegeta still isn't awake. I continue folding clothes, the ringing phone pressed between my cheek and shoulder. I hear a click.

"Nappa."

"Vegeta."

I take a breath, prepping myself for the rant I'm about to spew at this poor man. He beats me to it.

"It's the kid, isn't it?"

"Yes. He woke me up in the middle of the night last night playing those damned games. I can't get through to him. I know you run a daycare center." I sigh, rubbing my face. "Please help me."

There's a moment of silence on the other end before he sighs.

"It's more of a youth directional center. No little kids. Aside from that, I feel like Vegeta could benefit from having a friend his age to hang out with. Might calm him down a bit. You have to take into account that graduating from high school is really stressful for any normal kid, let alone one that's lost his mother. I think I know just the kid. I'll talk to his parents tomorrow about it, and hopefully they'll agree with me. I'll call you back if I get anything else. For the time being, try not to push him too hard. He's doing the things he's doing because he doesn't know how to cope. Make him some of his favorite food, it'll make him think."

I stay silent for a minute. then nod to myself. "Alright. Thank you, Nappa. I owe you big time."

"No problem man, anything for you."

"See ya."

"Bye."

I set the phone down, taking a minute to think.

We lost my wife three years ago, it was hard for everyone, especially Vegeta. Before that he seemed really happy, doing well in school, having friends over...

After... He shut himself away, his grades dropped, he stopped having people over, stopped going to parties. He just disconnected. Only recently has he gotten so angry.

I tried to get him to a therapist, but...

"I'm not some fucking mental case, dad. Leave my shit alone."

He really wasn't into it.

I think about what Nappa said. He's the kid expert, it can't hurt to try.

Abandoning the laundry, I go to the kitchen. It's been a while since I've actually cooked anything, we always order take out.

I rack my brain, trying to remember my son's favorite breakfast. Although it's already noon, he'd be just waking up.

Chocolate and strawberry pancakes.

Taking a deep breath, I scour the fridge and pantry, finding everything I need, barely.

There are a bunch of strawberries left in the fridge, and a long forgotten bag of chocolate chips, but they're unopened and a month away from the expiry date, so I shrug and continue.

A half used box of pancake mix sits sadly on the shelf of the pantry, next to a bunch of other nondescript boxes.

I get to work on these pancakes. The time goes by quick, and though I had to toss a few, soon I had a handsome stack.

I pour a shit ton of syrup on them, remembering last minute that he likes them soaked. I stab a fork in the top and bring it upstairs to his room along with a tall glass of chocolate milk. I set the milk down when I get to his door and tap on it lightly. No answer. I push it open, seeing Vegeta sprawled out, tangled in his blankets, half hanging off his bed in only his boxers.

As much as the kid pisses me off, he's my kid. I smile and set the food on his side desk, and gently shake him awake.

"Hey, junior. I made you breakfast."

He blinks awake, squinting up at me with a sleepy frown.

"What?"

"I made your favorite. Eat up."

Before he can get mad at me I leave the room and go my office. Hopefully we can make amends soon.

I hope whoever this kid Nappa has in mind is enough to make Vegeta open up, just a little bit.

I set to work.

I'm too sleepy to yell at the bastard when he wakes me up, so I just try to scowl. It seems to have scared him off. I look over, a big stack of pancakes just sitting there. I pout. I can't not eat these.

Half way through the pancakes I sit in my gaming chair, still shoveling the delicious breakfast in my face. I didn't really have dinner last night, I'm just really hungry.

I turn on my TV with my big toe, taking my controller and opening up YouTube immediately. The video I was watching last pops up, I press play.

"D-... Do you mean Spotify?"

I chuckle. No matter how many times I watch this same video I can't help but laugh. I finish off my breakfast and set the dirty plate on my bed.

I am so fucking bored. I wish I had somewhere to be and something to do, but I don't really have any friends anymore.

I guess that's my fault.

I sigh. Nothing to do, nowhere to be... What to do with myself?

I spin in my chair. My walls are covered in posters, every free surface has graffiti all over it. A stack of unused books sits beside my closet.

No.

I ignore them and keep scanning. My eyes land on the long forgotten acoustic guitar in the corner. It hasn't been tuned let alone played in a few years now. Nope.

I could make my bed, but that would only keep me busy for about 30 seconds. I could clean my whole room, but seeing as I literally only sit in this chair and lay in my bed, there's nothing really to be cleaned. I mean, there are a few empty chip bags scattered around, but those don't need to be taken care of right this minute.

I could exercise. I haven't done that in a while. I glance at the regimen calendar from six months ago, abandoned two weeks in. I shake my head.

I glance down at my skinny body. Despite eating shit food, I've never gained weight. I silently thank my teenage metabolism. But that never stopped me from wanting big muscles.

Whatever.

I run my hand through my hair. Ew.

When was the last time I showered? I think and think. I don't remember. I shove myself out of my chair, and grab the sticky plate from my bed and head to the downstairs bathroom.

I toss the plate in the sink before entering the room just down the hall, dark brown curtains and bath mats hugely contrasting against the white tiles. I snatch a towel from the cabinet and toss it on the toilet seat cover.

I glare at myself in the mirror before shaking my head and stripping down the clothes that I've been wearing for probably the last few days.

I feel better than I usually do for some reason. Maybe that's why I'm actually showering.

Even naked I still feel like I'm wearing clothes. I must be real grimy if I feel like this. I toss the nasty clothes in the hamper before setting the temperature of the water.

Standing out of the shower with my hand testing the water, I close my eyes. I'm still so tired.

I get in, letting the steamy water hit my back. I have to go all out with this shower, I haven't in so long. Starting on my hair, I work my way down until my fingers are pruny and my skin is red and hot to the touch.

I really did scrub my skin to hell, but I do feel a bit better now.

I wrap the soft towel around my waist after drying off and head back to my room.

I end up making my bed immediately, now in the cleaning mood. The dark blue sheets and blanket are nice and square now. I grin a little.

I search my closet for something to wear. I always feel silly standing here in my boxers, for some reason. It's a weird way to feel, right?

I pull on some maroon joggers and a loose black t-shirt. Not like I'm leaving the house anyway.

I crack my neck and sit back down. Now I'm really tired. I hate this.

I lay back down onto my freshly made bed. The sheets crumple under me.

I go back to sleep.

Less than half an hour goes by before I hear the shower turn on in the next room.

Finally.

Breakfast must have him in a good mood if he's showering. I wish he would more, but I can't force him, he's a grown boy.

It's a long shower. Longer than I expected. I'm not going to complain, though. At least he's showering at all.

My phone rings. I see Nappa's name and immediately pick up.

"What's up?"

"Hey. I talked to the kids parents. It took some convincing, but they agreed to let him stay at yours for a few days after they meet the two of you. I gave them your phone and address. They said they'd be there at six."

"You're a life saver."

"It's what I do. Take it easy man."

"See ya."

"Bye."

I hang up and lean back in my chair, glancing at the time. Its half one, I have four and a half hours to mentally prepare myself. I take a deep breath and go back to finishing my work. I smack my hand against my forehead. I forgot to ask the kids fucking name.

Now I have to do the awkward introduction, asking names and everything. I hate that. I decide not to warn Vegeta ahead of time, he'd only retaliate and make things harder at this point. I end up rushing through the end of my work and decide to go out for lunch.

I make my way to the second floor, knocking on Vegeta's door.

Nothing.

I open the door to a very similar image as earlier, except the food and plate are gone and the bed is made. I'm impressed. I decide to leave him alone for now, but I leave him a note.

Hey, kiddo. I went out for lunch. I wanted to let you keep sleeping but I'll bring something back for you.  
-Dad  
P.S. Thanks for showering.

I leave the note on his desk and leave, closing the door quietly behind me. I make my way out of the house, wondering on how this kid is gonna get along with Vegeta.

That's another thing. I have to go grocery shopping. I pat my back pocket, checking for my wallet, and make my way out of the front door.

I hope Vegeta will be fine on his own.

I shake my head. What am I thinking? The boy is eighteen, he'll be perfectly fine on his own. For a few hours at least.

I think on meeting this family as I drive, and I feel silly. I'm not the one that has to cooperate with someone else's kid, that's Vegeta. If anything this will be hard on him, not me. I'm being selfish. That's a bad habit that needs breaking.

I feel bad for my son. I have no idea what's going on in his head, but I know he's not handling it the healthy way. I'm not even sure he knows what the healthy way is.

I don't know. Rue was the good parent. But now she's gone and I'm lost in more ways than one.

My dad left a note. I ignore it.

it's three in the afternoon already. My stomach grumbles. I ignore that, too.

I don't want to get up. I don't want to be awake. Why can't I just fucking sleep?

I snatch my phone from my side desk. No texts, three spam emails, one YouTube notification.

I turn my phone off and toss it into my chair. I don't even know why I have the damn thing. Not like I ever use it for anything.

I groan, reaching my hand out for it. I do use it.

Music.

My dad isn't home, so I can listen to it out loud. I go to my premade playlist and just lay down, letting my mind focus on the gentle piano. I love the piano.

I lose myself in thought. Everything just feels so empty lately. Nothing is exciting. Nothing is colorful.

It's just all boring.

It wasn't like this before mom died. Everything went downhill from there. I lost all my friends because I just couldn't make myself be social. They thought I was mad at them or some stupid shit. I just didn't know what to do.

So I lost my favorite parent and my social life, and because I was so distracted by all of that, my grades fell. I stopped caring. I didn't want to care, it made it hurt worse.

I sigh. I'm a pathetic mess.

No matter how much I crave companionship and progress, I'm just so tired all the time. I try to make myself do things. I really really try, but once I make even the slightest mote of progress, I'm drained.

So tired. So fucking tired.

So I end up trying less and less. Throwing myself at video games (that I'm terrible at, for the record), and just filling the boring endless day with YouTube videos. It's all pointless. It never makes me happy. I laugh, sure, but that's far from happiness.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I have no interests, no goals. Nothing.

I have nothing.

I text my dad.

If youre bringing food home I want chicken tenders

I wait. A minute ding and a tiny vibration.

Already got it. On my way home soon. Try to look presentable.

All I care about is my food. I couldn't give less of a shit about 'looking presentable'. If the God-damned Pope came to our house I wouldn't be changing out of these clothes.

The song changes. I settle back down.

I'm getting too worked up over shit that doesn't matter anymore. Leave it to me to make a chicken out of a feather.

I bury my head into my pillows. I'm so comfy... And tired.

More naps wouldn't hurt.

I come into the house with loads of grocery bags all up my arms. I had called Vegeta to ask him to help, but he never answered. Peculiar, he texted me earlier about his tenders. He probably went back to bed.

I worry so much about him.

I unload my arms and begin to put groceries away, not sure how to arrange everything, the fridge has been empty for so long. Maybe having actual food in the house will make him eat more regularly.

And not have a diet that is 90% chips.

I love my kid more than anything, but that doesn't mean I'm a good parent. I'm actually a pretty shitty parent. I never put my foot down, I kind of let Vegeta do whatever the hell he wants, and I never say anything to him about the several noise complaints we've gotten from neighbors.

I just want him to be happy.

I glance at the clock on the microwave. Four thirty.

My nerves are wearing down, I'm all anxious. Even after scolding myself in the car about being selfish, I can't help the jittery feeling I get when I think about having to look after someone else's kid. What if he gets hurt? What if the two boys don't get along at all? I have no idea how to handle my own son, let alone someone else's.

No, Vegeta! You can do this, he's only a kid. Only a kid and his parents. Hopefully he's less troubled than mine. Or their troubled-ness is something they bond over? Where is he going to sleep? We don't have a guest bedroom, and the couch doesn't pull out, so he'll either have to sleep on the couch or he'll have to sleep in Vegeta's room, which wouldn't be a problem, but they'd be sharing a bed, and boys can be weird when it comes to sleeping in the same bed.

Sometimes I wish I had a girl, it would be so much easier.

What am I going to do in the time left? Sit here with my thoughts? Probably.

I've already eaten, my work for the day is finished, the groceries are put away, I finished the laundry. What to do, what to do.

I could read, I guess. Yeah, sure.

In my office there are a few books, mostly things about accounting and self-help parenting. I've read all those. I find an old battered copy of The Taming of the Shrew and shrug. I guess.

Plopping down on the couch with the book in hand, I flick to particularly wrinkled pages, and find that Rue had read this probably a million times and had left sections highlighted and little notes jotted in the borders. I find a sad smile creeping onto my face. Instead of actually reading the story I go through and read all of her insights and highlighted sections.

It made me feel closer to her, somehow.

Before I could really think about how much time is left the doorbell rings. I silently hope it woke Vegeta up so I don't have to.

I set the book down and pat myself down, smoothing out wrinkles. I open the door with a big smile and check out the gauntlet.

The mom seems quite young. She's short with a cute round face and short shaggy hair. The father is significantly taller, actually pretty intimidating. He looks like he could be really muscular under the loose sweater he's covered himself with.

The kid is even taller than his dad, and the only reason I can tell he's the kid is because he seems to be trying to suck his head into his body to hide.

"Hi!" I stick my hand out to the father for a shake. He takes it quite firmly. "My name's Vegeta. Please, come inside." I shake the moms hand before getting out of the way and letting them in.

One thing me and my kid have in common is that we're terrible at meeting new people. I automatically head for the kitchen, shouting to them sitting in the living room. "Do you want any drinks?! I'll bring in some water!"

I'm so nervous that my hands shake carrying the platter of glasses back into the room. The three eye me from the couch, obviously reproachful.

I set the glasses down and sit on the other couch facing them. I have no idea what to do with my hands. I fold them in my lap.

"Bardock." The father says. His name.

"Bardock! Wonderful to meet you. And you, ma'am?"

"I'm Gine. This is our son Kakarot."

"What a wonderful name. Both of you." My whole back is shaking. I can feel sweat beading on my forehead, but I dare not wipe it away. "My friend Nappa said that you would be willing to let Kakarot stay here for the time being."

"Yes, we're hoping Kakarot and your son will become friends. It seems they both need it." Gine pats her sons knee gently. I slowly see his posture improve. It's kind of comforting to know that I'm not the only one nervous. I give him a gentle smile.

"Well, I can't say anything for you, Kakarot, but I know that Vegeta desperately needs a friend. Ever since we lost his mother he's been very reclusive."

"I'm sorry about your wife, Vegeta. That must've been hard on you two." Gine really does seem to be the talkative one of these parents.

I glance at the book on the coffee table and nod sadly, "Yeah, even though it was a few years ago it's still really hard to deal. I'm more worried about my son though, he's not mature enough to know how to deal with his grief in a healthy way. Kakarot seems like a very nice boy, I think he'll be able to bring out the best of my kid, and vise versa, of course."

The three of them nod silently, seeming to think about it for a moment. Gine speaks again.

"We were thinking about leaving Kakarot here for a week, so they have time to get to know each other. We would offer for Vegeta to come to ours, but from the info we got from Mr. Nappa, it doesn't seem that he likes to leave here at all, so we want to respect that."

"A week is perfectly fine. I work from home to keep an eye on him, so they wont be alone at all really, if you're worried about his safety at all," I motion to Kakarot gently. He seems fine now, his head fully emerged from his shoulders. Now he's just absently gazing around the room, inspecting everything. He really does seem like a sweet kid.

"We have plenty of food, too, so he definitely won't go hungry under my supervision."

Bardock has just been staring at me the whole time, it's unnerving.

"Bardock, is there anything you want to know?"

He shrugs, "I'd prefer Kakarot to sleep separately from your boy. Nothing against yours, it's just that he's a queer." He pokes an aggressive thumb at Kakarot, who immediately shrinks back down into his shoulders. The display is disturbing, but I pretend to approve for the boys' sakes.

I nod, "Of course. I understand the concern."

"Hn." Bardock goes back to arms crossed and silence.

There is a tense moment of silence, but Vegeta breaks it by stomping down the stairs grumpily. I'm happy he's gotten out of bed, but he looks a mess.

"Who the hell are these people?" He crosses his arms. I cringe.

"Vegeta. Don't be rude. This is Kakarot and his parents Bardock and Gine. Say hi."

He scoffs and snatches a glass of water from the table, sauntering away back upstairs. I sigh.

"I apologize for his behavior, but that is what we wanna correct, right?"

Gine nods, also looking in the direction Vegeta went.

"That seems to about cover it. Kakarot already has all of his things in the car, if you're ready to get this ball rolling."

I laugh. "You're very prepared. Of course. I'll help you bring it all in," I start to stand but Gine waves me away.

"No no no, you go on, we'll take care of it. Kakarot, why don't you go with Mr. Vegeta so he can show you your room."

Kakarot nods and stands next to me, his shoulders hunched forward. His parents go to the car to bring his bags in.

I pat him gently on the shoulder, "C'mon kid. I'll show you around."

I lead him down the hall, "This is the kitchen, and right here is the bathroom. And the next door down is my office, you can come in anytime if you need anything," I lean down close to him, trying my best Dad Voice.

"Listen, Kakarot. I don't care that you're gay, alright? You can sleep on the couch if you want, but feel free to sleep in Vegeta's room, too."

His face turns pink. "U-uh, I'll probably end up sleeping on the couch. He seems like he already doesn't like me."

I pat him, "Nonsense. It just takes persistence. I can tell you're a shy boy, but even if you just watch him play video games he'll warm up to you quick. But, if you do end up wanting to sleep on the couch that's fine with me. Just make yourself comfortable. C'mon."

I lead him back out into the living room, where Gine is setting down the last bit of Kakarots things next to the couch. She huffs, standing back up. "Alright! That's everything. We'll excuse ourselves now. Kakarot, behave yourself."

He shrugs, "I don't know when I ever misbehave, but alright."

He waves to his parents as they leave and close the door behind them.

"Alright. Vegeta's room is upstairs, have fun. And don't let him get to you, he can say some pretty nasty things but there's never anything really behind them. Just shrug it off, alright?"

He nods, placing his hand on the banister. He looks back at me for a second like he's gonna ask me something, but shakes his head and heads upstairs.

I take a deep breath. Finally.

I'm already three stages into Peggle when the boy comes in, not bothering to knock first. I don't say anything.

He walks around my bed, kicking his shoes off in a neat pair at the end before planting himself behind me, watching me play.

"Uh... Hi."

I grunt as acknowledgement. He stays quiet for a second.

"What are you playing?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, really? I've never heard of that before. How do you play?" He responds sarcastically. I cant help but laugh a little, but I don't say anything. I just keep playing, hyper-aware of his shifting and moving behind me.

After about an hour I hear him slide off my bed and go to the corner of my room by my forgetten guitar.

"You play?"

"Of course. Every time I play the dust gets an inch thicker," My voice is dripping with sarcasm.

"Hm. I'm guessing its not even tuned then," He plucks a string, a strained rusty sound resounding. "Ugh. I'm gonna fix this up."

"Go for it."

He picks it up by the neck, sitting back down on my bed and adjusting the strings.

Its oddly calming to listen to the gentle plucking while playing, but all too soon he has the pitch set and strums it experimentally.

"When's the last time you played?" He asks, gently picking.

I shrug. "I'm playing right now," I point to the television. He laughs quietly.

"I used to take lessons as a kid and now I just kind of teach myself," He plucks a cute little tune, not putting much thought to it. "I do it to stop the bad thoughts."

I pause for a second. I mean, this kid probably came from Nappa's facility, so of course he would have problems. Everyone does, really. "I can't do that."

"Stop the bad thoughts?" He stops playing.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Sure you can," he starts again, nice and slow, "You just gotta find something you love and do it 'till your hands fall off."

I shrug, "I like to sleep."

He scoffs, "That doesn't count. Ignoring shit doesn't make it better. Ya gotta get up and do somethin'."

"Nah." I run out of balls before I can clear the level. "Fuck." I close the game and turn off my console, staring at the boys reflection in the black screen.

"What's your name again?" I ask, realizing I hadn't even given him that courtesy. I may be an asshole but I have manners.

"Kakarot." He looks back at me through the screen, making eye contact. I let the name roll off my tongue.

"Kakarot. Nice." I swivel in my chair to see him, "So exactly how much do you play?"

He shrugs with a small smile on his lips. "I mean I can do the basic shit but I'm obsessed with playing this one song. I just play and play and never get tired of playing it.

"Well?" I toss a hand at the guitar, "Impress me."

He shakes his head with the same little smile, "I don't know how easy that'll be."

He props the instrument on his knee and leans over it, finding the right starting chord. Strumming at a steady pace, he falls right into the rhythm of the song, and I can tell he's played it hundreds of times. The song starts to sound familiar, and I'm about to say something before he starts singing a lot more gently than the original.

"I'll paint you a picture, with words I miss him. We still talk like everyday, but we don't talk in the same way that we used to. I'll move on and forget you. We could never see eye to eye, but either way, I like him 'cause he's smart, headstrong and independent. He puts me in my place, but I don't know where I stand. And if only I could find the words, or muster up the nerve to tell him I'll never forget him, and he'll always have a part of me. Don't let me go down this road again,"

I take the small pause to jump in on the second vocal, his smile gets a little wider.

We sing the rest of the song together, him mostly doing the vocals. Right at the end the parts split, but we take them seamlessly.

"You know that song?" He asks, taking his hands off the strings.

I shrug. "Maybe."

He smiles again.

"You gay or somethin'?" I say, not bothering with the embarrassing pleasantries.

"O-oh! Uh, yeah. Is... Is that an issue?" He rubs the back of his neck and looks to the side, his head shrinking down into his shoulders.

I wave a hand dismissively, "No, no. Me too. I was just wondering because I noticed you changed the lyrics a bit."

"Oh, yeah," He sounds out of breath, "It's a habit. I've never sang it the other way."

I nod.

"Wait, so you're gay?" He hops off the bed and puts the guitar back in the stand.

"Bi, actually. But I do prefer guys." I put my hands behind my head and swivel back in forth in my chair slowly.

"Does your dad know?" He wrings his hands.

"My dad hardly knows my fucking birthday, let alone my sexuality. It's never came up, so I never bothered mentioning it." I shrug, "It's not that big of a deal to me. It's just another thing going on in my head."

He hoists himself on the bed entirely, crossing his legs and planting his hands in his lap.

"Whoa. I wish I had that confidence."

"I wouldn't call it confidence," I chuckle with no humor in my tone, "Just a lack of giving a shit, I guess."

"Still," He tilts his head to one side, cracking it. "I give a shit about everything, I can't not."

I tap my temple, "It's all in your ol' egg."

He smiles sweetly, "That's what they all keep telling me, anyway."

I nod, "Exactly."

He leans back and sprawls himself out.

"Your dad was right. You are easy to warm up to."

I get up and lay next to him, staring at the ceiling from the opposite end of the bed.

"My dad should be the last person to talk about warming up to me. He's been trying for eighteen years, you, on the other hand, are nice and toasty within about two hours."

We lay there for a minute before he sits up, "It's getting late. I should unpack."

Without looking I point to my dresser. "I don't use that, so it's empty. Go crazy."

He hops off and leaves the room to get his bags. He comes up with heaping armfuls, setting everything down.

I sit up, "Jesus Christ, boy. How long are you staying?"

He wipes his forehead. "A week," and starts to organize already folded clothes into the drawers.

"I had no fucking idea you were even coming let alone staying for a whole week." I lay back down, watching his upside down form empty bag after bag, "This is why I can't stand my father."

He stops and looks at me, tilting his head again, "Do you want me to leave sooner? I can always have Mr. Vegeta call my parents."

"No, it's not like that. And please for the love of God don't refer to my father as 'Mr. Vegeta'."

He shrugs, folding empty bags and putting them in the bottom drawer, "That's just how I was raised to talk about adults."

"Your parents sound like squares." I turn over, letting my blood go back into the rest of my body.

He sits next to me, "It's not that, it's just that if I don't show respect I get a swift crack on the ass from my dad, so at this point it's an automatic."

"How old are you? Eighteen?" He nods. I scoff. "And your dad still spanks you like a child. Ridiculous."

"Were you never spanked?"

I shake my head. "I would get smacked on the hand, but the last time that even happened was when I was six or something. Honestly," I look up at him, "If my dad tried to hit me I'd hit 'im right back. I don't give a shit."

He rolls his eyes, "Very bold of you, Vegeta. I'm impressed."

I sit up and lean against the tall bedpost, tapping my head again, "Like I said. Just don't give a shit. Solves all your problems."

He laughs. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way."

"Sure it does," My alarm rings. "It's half eight," and I get up and go to my bedside desk, pulling out an orange bottle.

"Whats that?"

I pop three in my hand, taking all of them at once with no water, "Mood suppressors. They don't really do their job, but they do help me sleep... Sometimes."

"Are they prescription? It's in a pharmacy bottle."

I put the bottle back. "Nah, bought 'em online."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not if you don't care."

He nods, thinking about it. "Alright, fair enough. I'm gonna go take my nightly shower. I'll see you in a little bit."

"Alright man." I lay down with my arms behind my head, looking at the ceiling again. I hear him leave with a click of the door.

After laying there for a minute I prop myself on my elbows. Looking around, not a single thing looks or feels different. I thought having Kakarot stay here would make me uncomfortable and angry at the very least, but it seems the opposite. If anything I'm less upset than I usually am at this time of night. It's a foreign but pleasant feeling. I smile.

It's really nice.

Kakarot pokes his head in the door, obviously in a towel.

"Uh, this is gonna sound really dumb but can you help me with your shower?" He gives me a silly lopsided smile. I laugh.

"Sure, c'mon." I heave myself out of bed and march past him and sit on the banister of the stairs, sliding down comically. He laughs and follows me, fist holding tight to the towel around his waist.

"Just like this, see?" I turn the handle down to the hottest setting, "If you want it cooler then twist it the other way."

"Alright, thanks man."

I leave the bathroom and head upstairs, grinning like an idiot the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm only going to be updating this fic about once a month, because they're pretty big chapters, and I have other things to work on as well. I was only planning on this being a few chapters long, but the way things are going now it'll probably be quite a bit more than a few.

The shower actually feels very nice. The stress of the day is quickly leaving my body, my shoulders feel less tense. I never bothered to make the water colder than Vegeta made it, so my skin is red and hot under the pounding stream. 

I get out, rubbing myself dry. I look in the tall mirror on the wall, checking the damage the hot water did. I shrug at the red coating my skin and ruffle my hair in the towel to dry it.

Shit. I forgot to get a set of clothes before I left his room. I can’t put on my dirty clothes again, that would be weird, and probably freak Vegeta out. I have to get dressed upstairs.

I don’t know why I feel so nervous. I shouldn’t be, I think. I peek at my face in the mirror quick before making my slow trip upstairs.

I silently I peek my head in before coming all the way in. Vegeta seems to be fully occupied by Mortal Kombat, so I decide it’s safe to come in and throw some clothes on. I creep over to my donated dresser, pulling out boxers and a big shirt. I slip them on before he has a chance to turn around. I’m not even sure if he knows I’m in here yet. I notice a hamper a few feet away and toss my dirty clothes and towel in it. 

I go to sit on the edge of Vegeta’s bed again. I cross my legs and watch him as he completes a game with a brutal fatality. 

Suddenly he clicks his console off and spins around in his chair.

“So, I’m curious.” He props his chin on his hand, leaning casually on the arm of his chair.

“About what?” I twiddle my thumbs in my lap, nervous.

“Are you a virgin?” He asks with a sly grin on his face.

I instantly heat up and look anywhere but where he is. I stop twiddling and grip my hands together, rubbing them anxiously.

“W-well. I, uh, um… I’m not sure I’m, uh…” My face only gets more red as I keep talking.

“Okay, that’s a yes,” He laughs to himself, obviously finding humor in my embarrassment. “Would you top or bottom?”

I feel my face heat to my ears, I cover it with my long fingers, “Vegeta! That’s… Really personal…”

He laughs again, “So bottom, okay. Wow, Kakarot, you’re easy to read. This is getting fun.”

Angry, I become brave. “Well what about YOU, mister know-it-all? Are you a virgin?” Instantly his bravado is gone, replaced by wide eyes and a pink face. “See?! Ha! I knew you weren’t all high and mighty.”

“W-well you see, I never really had the chance…”

“Me either! Seems like we’re both in a predicament.” I cross my arms.

The air suddenly shifts as he looks up at me from his seat. He looks so vulnerable and… Cute.

“Kakarot?”

“Yeah?”

“Um, I, uh…” He trails off.

We sit there, dumbly staring at each other until a knock resounds on the door. Vegetas father steps in with a gentle smile. 

“Hey boys, I was thinking about ordering pizza for a late dinner, how’s that sound?”

Without taking his eyes off me, Vegeta nods, “Sure, dad. Thanks.”

“Oh. Uh, no problem, son. I’ll bring it up when it gets here.” He shuts the door, leaving us in roaring silence. 

Vegeta coughs awkwardly, spinning around in his chair again, back toward the TV. 

“So, uh, Kakarot, I’m guessing you’re sleeping on the couch tonight?”

For some reason I feel myself deflate, “Sure.” I say dejectedly. 

“Oh! No, I mean, I was asking. You’re free to sleep wherever the fuck you want.” I see concern in his eyes through the reflection of the television. 

“Well, I mean if you’re alright with me sleeping in here then I don’t mind the floor…” I think about how bad my back is gonna hurt after sleeping there. 

“Oh, my God! Would you… UGH!” He spins around again, eye twitching over something. He jumps out of his chair, grabs my face, and smashes his lips against mine. 

I don’t even have enough time to close my eyes before he backs away, throwing himself back in his chair. He turns his console back on, choosing a mindless game that doesn’t require much concentration or skill.

Subconsciously my fingers move up to ghost over my lips. 

That was absolutely the last thing I expected. It was nice. I’m glad he has a little bite to his bark. I smile, deciding to leave him alone for now. He seems pretty worked up. 

I lay my head on the pillows, crossing my ankles and just stupidly smiling at the ceiling. I see him glance at me every once in awhile and it only makes me smile more. 

“What I meant was we could share my bed.” He says quiety, without turning around. “I mean it’s only fair. You’re the guest.”

“Vegeta, your bed is a twin.” I chuckle under my breath and put my hands behind my head. I don’t know what’s causing my sudden personality shift, but I don’t mind being on the upper half of things.

“And? If you have an issue with that then sleep on the couch. I don’t give a shit.” He crosses his arms, ignoring his current game.

“Oh, I have no problem with it at all, it’s just that a twin bed isn’t made to sleep two people. We’d be pretty snug in here if it was the both of us.” I smirk smugly. I know I have him in a corner. I close my eyes. I hear a shifting and before I can react he’s placed himself across my hips, resting his smirking face on my chest. 

“You mean like this?” He shifts himself to be comfortable, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling his face into my midsection.

He really doesn’t care. I roll with it. I lay my head back down onto the pillows and lace my fingers through his hair, just feeling the strands. 

“Yeah, just like that. This is nice.”

I hear him laugh and I smile, relaxing and almost feeling sleep creep into the corners of my eyes.

We lay in silence for a little bit, just enjoying each other's presence. I laugh. 

“My dad would kill me if he saw me like this. He’d probably kill you, too.” My hand is tugged away from Vegeta’s scalp as he leans up to look at me. 

There’s a look on his face I haven’t seen yet. “I wouldn’t let your father kill me. And I sure as hell wouldn’t let him lay a finger on you.”

“Oh, well aren’t you tough.”

He pulls himself up to my eye level, straddling himself across my hips again and grabbing my face with both hands. “I’m dead serious. I can tell,” He looks off to the side, almost embarrassed. “You’re special. Too special to be treated like that. I won’t let him hurt you if I can help it.”

“Vegeta? Where’s this coming from?” I put a concerned hand on his shoulder, trying to read his face. He shies away again, but only for a moment before looking at me all serious again. 

“It’s just… The only person I was able to get this close to was my mother… And having you around, I don’t know, it’s like you brought back something I’ve been missing since she died.” His shoulders slump a bit, thinking about his mom.

“I remind you of her?” I’m partly flattered and partly very concerned about how this would effect our friendship. I let out a silent sigh of relief when he shakes his head against my shirt.

“Not exactly. It’s more like she encouraged me to be better than I had been the day before, but still laughed and had fun with me like a friend…”

“Vegeta, that’s touching and all, but we’ve known each other for like, four hours. What makes you so sure that I’m this savior-like figure in your life?” I run my fingers though his hair again; he shrugs.

“A hunch, I guess. If you’re not, then at least I can enjoy a little bit of time separated from my own personal hell.”

We just sit in each other’s arms for a bit, thinking about what could possibly bloom from this. 

Vegeta’s dad comes in suddenly, holding a boxed pizza in one hand. He freezes in place when he sees the two of us in bed. This must look quite strange to anyone else. 

All he does is smile and salute me casually, “See you’re makin’ yourself at home, Kakarot.” He comes in and sets the pizza down on Vegetas desk. He’s about to leave the room before he turns around to face us again.

“Oh, boys. Just so you’re aware, there’s Vaseline in the bathroom.”

Vegeta shoots up on his hands, glowering at his father, “Dad! Would you fuck off?!”

The only response is a light chuckle, “Night, boys.” And he’s gone.

“You know, your dad is pretty funny… Heh… Vegeta?” I look up at to him, from where he sat down after yelling at his dad. “You okay?”

He crosses his arms and frowns so deeply it’s almost a pout. I smile up at him, rubbing a gentle hand against his chest, “Hey, look at me,” He does, still frowning, but less. “Don’t take it too seriously, alright? He was just joking,” He tightens his arms and looks off again.

I sigh and sit up with him still on my lap. He looks at me with wide eyes for a moment before blushing and maintaining his shield of anger. I grab both sides of his face gently, forcing him to look at me. “It’s okay,” and I kiss him on the nose lightly, giving him plenty of time to pull away. He doesn’t.

He maintains his pout, but uncrosses his arms and puts them on my shoulders, pulling me into a loose hug.

“You alright?”

He nods. “I’m really tired all of a sudden.”

I hold him tighter, “Does it have anything to do with the pills?”

He nestles father into the crook of my neck, “No, I just can’t deal with my father much before I’m drained,” He takes his arms from me, sliding off my lap and crawling past me to collapse on the pillows, “Let’s just go to bed, Kakarot.”

I look behind me to see him already curled up and comfortable, pulling what little blanket he can over his tiny body. I sigh and smile, crawling in with him. 

I face the opposite direction as him so our backs are facing each other, but he runs his feet down the backs of my legs and locks our ankles together, silently begging for some kind of touch.

The forgotten pizza lays there, cold and betrayed. I fall asleep.

 

In the morning I wake up on my back, a comfortable warmth at my side. I look down to see a snoring Vegeta curled up next to me, still fast asleep. I smile and lean my head back down onto my pillow and I run my fingers lightly through his hair. He sighs and holds me closer, rubbing his face on my chest. 

I think about what he said last night, about me giving him something to strive for, something to look forward to. I haven’t known him long, but I can see where he’s coming from. There was something weird about the atmosphere between us as soon as we saw each other for the first time. A lot of me hopes that it’s a good thing, that maybe there’s something to him, something special.

I know he’s special. I could feel it when he kissed me. Even if things between us never went beyond friendship, that friendship would be spectacular. 

The more I think about it, the more I realize that there’s almost no chance that we’ll stay ‘just friends’. I mean, I’d barely known the kid for a few hours and he’d already kissed me, and asked me about my sex life.

I glance down at him again. He said he’d protect me. That kind of seals that there’s something bigger than friendship going on. And strangely, I don’t have a problem with that at all.

That, and he’s absolutely striking. The moment I laid eyes on him it made me nervous. And I’m sure my father noticed as well, how I reacted. I had raised my eyebrows instantly, earning a glare from him. And not much after that I found myself crossing my legs.

Vegeta really is gorgeous. There’s no other way to go around it. He’s got a sharp jawline, a cute little pointy nose and these smouldering angry eyes that never seem to lose their fire. That, and I’ve always had a thing for short boys. And he’s just tiny. He can’t be over 5’3”, and he’s a skinny little thing. Graceful and lithe.

I’ve never really been interested in anyone taller than me, and that’s partly because of my bias, and mostly because most grown men don’t even get as tall as me. But Vegeta is so little. Little enough that it almost feels wrong in the worst way. But my brain knows that he’s older than me, by at least a few months, so it’s not that hard to ignore. 

He shifts a bit before slowly opening his eyes into a squint. His brow is furrowed, like he’s confused. He runs his hand back and forth across my chest before realization creeps over his face. He glances up at my smiling face. 

“Good morning, Kakarot.”

“Morning. Did you sleep well?” I ask over a chuckle.

“Yes, actually.” He yawns, trying his best to conceal the squeak leaving his throat. I decide not to bring it up. 

“I see you’re still tired. Do you wanna go back to sleep?”

He sleepily shakes his head, messing his hair up even more. “No, I want that pizza.”

“It’s cold.”

“I don’t give a shit,” He pushes himself off of me and slips out of bed, lightly landing on the floor. He snaps a cold slice from the box and bites into it. It looks absolutely disgusting but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

“I’m so hungry,” He says through a full mouth, closing his eyes as he swallows. I just grin stupidly from my place in bed.

He really is special. Silly, but special. 

“What time is it?” He asks, squinting at his blinded window. 

I shrug. “I dunno. It’s early though. Eight, probably.”

He groans. “God, it’s friday, isn’t it?”

I just nod, slightly confused.

“Shit. I don’t know how today is gonna go. Usually on fridays my father makes me go to a therapist. I don’t expect you to want to go.” He lets his head fall back in exasperation.

I shake my head, “No, I don’t mind. Unless you’d rather I don’t go.”

“No, I don’t care. It’s just that going to therapy makes me pissy for the whole day. I feel kinda bad that you have to put up with that,” He sits back down on the edge of the bed, eating the last bit of stale crust. “I can be a bit of a dick, even by my standards.”

“Geez, what is it about therapy that you hate so much?” I put my arms behind my head to prop it up, so I can see him easier. He shrugs.

“I guess just the fact that I have no choice in the matter. If I don’t go then the only other option my father has is putting me in a psych ward. And trust me,” He shrugs again, “I’ve been in one before. It’s not nice.”

I nod, just listening. Vegeta really is an open book when you get his trust. That’s admirable about him. He’s honest. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s whatever. I’ve learned to deal,”

I can tell he’s bluffing and it actually bothers him a lot more than he’s letting on, but I’ll let him talk about it when he’s ready. I don’t want him to feel pressured.

“Ugh. I need to brush my teeth,” He gets up again, heading for the door, “You coming with?”

I nod and sit up, holding my head. “I’ll be down in a minute. I just need to get my wits about me.”

He shrugs and leaves the room, leaving me by my lonesome. I will my lightheadedness to go away, and finally slide off the bed and onto the floor. I absentmindedly scratch the back of my head, making my way toward the dresser. I had left my toothbrush there last night out of laziness. 

Slowly making my way down the stairs, Vegeta passes me as he climbs back up. He stops me, whispering into my ear.

“I wanna show you something when you come back up.”

I freeze, responding in a panicked, but equally hushed tone. “No one is even around, why are you whispering?” 

All he does is smile and continue up the stairs. I stand still for a moment, processing. Before long I find myself in the bathroom, scrubbing the everliving hell out of my teeth. Going back upstairs I take the steps three at a time. At the landing in front of his door I stop to calm myself before strolling in as casually as I can.

I stop and peer down at Vegeta, who’s kneeling next to a large tote with a big smile on his face. I’m a bit apprehensive, but slowly walk toward him anyway. 

I kneel next to him, eyeing the box nervously. “Uh, what was it you wanted to show me?”

He giggles a little bit. His shift in mood is really concerning, but before I have time to question him he pops the lid off and leans back on his heels, still smiling huge. 

“How the hell?”

He just shakes his head. “For having a father that watches me like a hawk, it’s really easy to get things past him.” He picks up a pair of heart shaped rainbow glasses and unfolds them, placing them on my head. 

I look past them before propping them on my forehead. “Vegeta, you said you didn’t care about being gay.”

“I don’t,” He pulls out a huge flag, tying it around his neck like a cape, “But acknowledging it is fun. There’s a parade a few counties over today. If I play my cards right we can go. Come on, watch this,” He takes my hand and drags me out of his door with a huge smile. 

“DAD!”

The older Vegeta comes out of his office with a worried expression. “What is it, son?”

“I’M GAY!” Vegeta yells down to his father, still grinning his face off. I chuckle and scratch the back of my head. 

“I figured, kid. Anything else?”

“Instead of going to see Joel today I want to go to Richmond.” He finally lowers his voice.

“Vegeta, Richmond is an hour and a half away. What’s in Richmond that’s so important?”

“Shut up! It’ll make me happier to go there than to see Joel’s stupid face and his useless fucking desk toys.” 

His father sighs and runs a tired hand over his forehead. “Fine. Just let me know when you want to go.”

“SWEET!”

I laugh a little louder this time and find my hand making it’s way to the small of Vegeta’s back. I don’t move it and neither does he as we go back into his bedroom, back to the huge gay box. 

He pulls a bunch of other things out of the box. Face paint, shirts, a banner, and huge containers of rainbow glitter.

“Christ, Vegeta.”

“Shut up, I knew that I was going to be able to use it soon. What better time to use it than now?” He smiles down at all of the things on the floor. 

I just grin at him, not knowing what to say. I like this side of Vegeta. He’s a lot more lively than what I’ve seen so far. 

“Come here, let me see you,” He grabs the side of my face, pulling me in close. “What’s your favorite color?”

Confused, I look around, “Uh, orange?”

“Perfect.” He lets me go, going back into his little pile, organizing things, seemingly making decisions. 

I watch him putter around again. He’s actually really, really cute.

“There!” He holds up a purple and orange half-shirt that has ‘GAY AS FUCK’ on it. “It looks like it would fit you. Put it on.”

“What? That isn’t even a shirt! Are you crazy?” I back away from him a little.

“Yes, I am. Put it on.” He shoves it into my hands, not leaving room for protest. 

I look down into my hands at the ‘shirt’. It shouldn’t be too bad, I guess.

I take the glasses off my head and hand them to Vegeta, who’s still sporting a huge grin. I go to his bed, tossing the shirt down. I sigh to myself before pulling off my big comfy shirt and standing in my boxers for a moment. Vegeta seems oddly quiet but I don’t look at him to save myself and him the embarrassment. 

I pull the crop top on, the mesh on the back leaving my back completely exposed. The bottom of it hardly covers my chest. It’s loose, so it doesn’t even feel like I’m wearing anything.

“I don’t like this, Vegeta.” I look at him to find him gazing at me, hazy looking. 

“Vegeta?” I snap to get his attention. 

“What? Sorry. I got distracted.” 

“By what?” I put my hands on my hips, a sly grin plastered on my face. 

“Oh! Uh, uhm,” He looks away, back down into his lap.

I just laugh to myself and pull the top off. 

“You’re just… Really not bad looking.” He starts to organize again, trying to distract from the fact that he’s red as a beet.

“Oh, well thank you. You’re not bad either.” I try my best to sound casual but I have a hard time keeping my embarrassment from my voice. 

Standing there in just my boxers has a strange effect on the both of us. I’m suddenly very aware that I haven’t suffered my ‘morning issues’ yet. Those would be coming soon. I quickly make my way over to the dresser and pull out some dark jeans, slipping them over my long legs and buttoning them. 

Somehow Vegeta grows even redder, thinking for a moment before reaching behind him for his guitar. 

He runs it over to me, tossing the strap over my shoulder. He takes a look at me for a moment before groaning loud and collapsing on his bed.

“You’re being a bit melodramatic.” I comment. He screams into his pillow as a response. 

While the implied praise is nice, I would like for it to be intelligible. I go over to him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder blade. 

“Hey, c’mon.” I shake him a bit until he sits up, cheeks flushed all the way to the ears. He keeps his eyes closed, but has a dumb smile on his face. 

“You’re really hot,” he says, falling back and covering his face. 

Again, I get brave. I should really look into these mood shifts. 

I take the guitar from my shoulder and lean it up against his night stand and stand right in front of him.

He doesn’t notice until my hands are sliding up his thighs really slow. He shoots up, eyes wide. I look him in the face before continuing. 

“Is this okay?” I ask. His eyes are still wide when he nods his head a little bit. I smile warmly at him, and go back down to my business.

I run my hands farther up his legs, resting them on his hips. I lean into him, breathing slow against his neck. I feel him shiver.

I turn my face into his neck and kiss him gently while pushing my hands beneath his shirt and feeling my way up his back. His skin is really smooth. I finger the valley in the middle of his back, trailing all the way down to just above his waistband. 

I flatten my palms against his skin and feel his sides, trailing up to his ribs. They stick out a little bit, but not too much. His arms manage to find their way to my back, latching together and pulling me closer. I can’t help but chuckle into his skin, but that only makes him groan quietly in the back of his throat. I pull one hand out of his shirt and bring it up to the back of his head, fisting a handful of his hair. 

I yank his head back suddenly, but gently enough that it wouldn’t hurt him. He moans quietly, his arms falling from my back and onto the bed to brace himself. I plant my other hand in the middle of his back, lest his arms give way. I pull his head back, exposing his throat.

I kneel down and run the tip of my tongue up Vegeta’s neck, feeling the small vibration of a keening whine underneath my touch. I smirk, finding myself at his ear. I give a little nibble to the flesh there.

“Tell me what you want, Vegeta.” I whisper lightly to him. He shakes and trembles a little before groaning again, unable to speak. 

I release my grip on his hair, letting his head fall toward me again. His eyes are lidded and hazy, almost tired. I smile at him.

“What do you want?”

Still not speaking, his eyes flick down to my lips and back up again, wordlessly telling me exactly what he wants. 

I grab at the back of his head again, pushing his lips against mine. He keeps moaning like I’m doing more than just kissing him. 

Hit with an idea, I hook my arms under his knees, lifting him up to my waist. I walk him over to the nearest wall, kissing him harder and grinding my steadily hardening groin against his. He moans loudly into my mouth, unable to hold back his noises any more. 

I laugh and grab his wrists from behind my head and hold them up above his head, leaving one leg to hang uselessly. 

He tips his head back and pants, trying to get ahold of himself. I don’t give him the chance, burying my head into his neck again, kissing and sucking his skin until it bruises purple. 

“K-Kakarot…” He whines.

I kiss his neck one more time before meeting his eyes again. “What is it, Princess?”

“Ugh, fuck.” I chuckle and nuzzle his neck again.

“You’ll have to ask nicely.”

He wrings his hands, “Kakarot… Let me down.”

I let his hands go and gently lower him to the ground, holding his head between my hands and kissing his lips lightly. He sighs happily into my mouth, arching his body further into mine. I run my hands down his back again, letting my hands fall lower to cup his rear.

He’s a skinny little thing, but he has a really nice butt. He tosses his arms over my shoulders to bring me in closer, deepening the kiss. I slip my tongue against his mouth, letting him come in if he wants to. He bites my bottom lip, pulling his face from me with my lip between his teeth.

He breaks away completely, face flush and body lax. He puts a hand on my chest and gently pushes away from me. 

He makes his way to his bed, sitting down and running his hands through his hair. I follow him and hug him, pressing his head against my stomach.

“You alright?” I ask.

“More than.” He answers, running his hands up and down my legs.

“You sure?”

He nods. “I was wrong about you.”

“What do you mean?” I finger his hair absentmindedly.

“You’re not a bottom.” He laughs a little to himself. I kneel on the floor, resting my head on his knees and looking up at him. I smirk.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Princess.”

He laughs and shakes his head. 

“Shut up and let me get you ready for pride.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed tenses because   
> 1.) I'm an idiot and I can't keep track of myself let alone the 11 stories I'm working on.  
> 2.) I don't care enough to edit it back.  
> Sorry! Hope it isn't too distracting.

I sat on my bed, smearing different colors all over Kakarot’s face. I had just made it to the blue part of the rainbow when he grabbed my wrist and pushed it away with a smile. 

“What are you doing to my face?”

I laughed and pushed on, “I need to make it obvious that you’re gay.”

He laughed and squinted his left eye shut as I painted over it, “I think the shirt that says ‘gay as fuck’ on it would make that point obvious enough.”

I shrugged, still laughing, “That may be, but it’s never too much. The only thing I could do to make it more extreme is put you in full drag,” I saw him panic by the look in his eyes. I placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. 

“I won’t do that, don’t worry.”

He let out a big breath and smiled at me. “Will I get to put paint on your face?”

I shook my head, “No, I wasn’t kidding about drag, I’m just not doing it to you.”

“You’re gonna go in full drag?!”

I put the paint back in the tote, “No, just make up. I’m not gonna tuck my balls or anything,” I chuckled, “Besides, if I look too feminine I’m afraid you won’t kiss me in front of all the protestors.”

“Protestors?”

I shrugged, pulling on bright pink fuzzy leg warmers, “Yeah. They’re at almost every pride. It’s actually really funny. I wanna be that Drag Queen Mama that humiliates them and their dumbass God-speech,” I switched the left one for cyan. I liked mismatching things, “And I wanna kiss you in front of them. It makes them so mad, it’s hilarious,” He stayed quiet for a moment.

“Kakarot?”

He nodded when I looked back at him, that lost look still on his face, “You alright?”

He shrugged, “Nervous, I guess. I’ve never been out in public like this before. What if people yell at us?”

I went over and hugged him around the shoulders, careful not to bump his wet paint, “People will yell at us, but there will be more people yelling with us. That’s the whole point of pride. To remind sheltered little gays like you that you’re not going at the world all by yourself.”

He hugged me back, “Thanks, Vegeta. That makes me feel better,” He looked down at me. “Heh. We look like quite the pair, huh?”

I laughed, checking the two of us out as well, “We look awesome. I’m not done yet, though. Come on.” I pulled a small bag from the the box, checking that everything was still in its place.

I grabbed Kakarot’s hand and pulled him out of my room and down the stairs, toward the bathroom. 

“What are you doing?”

I looked at him with a playful smile, “I’m doing my makeup, duh,” I dumped the bag out onto the sink.

“Watch.” 

I pulled an eyeliner out, immediately prepping to swipe it across my eyes. I drew a large wing with ease and copied it on the other side. I looked at Kakarot, still smiling.

“That’s pretty.”

“I know. I used to do it all the time before my mom passed away. She’s the one that showed me how.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist leaning over my shoulder to look at me in the mirror, “Your mom was a good teacher, then.”

“She was,” I sighed, “You want me to do it to you? The paint should be dry by now.”

He put his hands up and laughed, stepping away, “I don’t think I need anything else on my face for the day. Besides, it looks better on you.”

I shrugged, “Suit yourself.” I put on mascara and light lavender lipstick and ran back upstairs, trying out outrun Kakarot. It didn’t work, because his legs were twice as long as mine, but trying felt fun anyway.

“Christ, Vegeta. Stop running around like that. There’s no rush.”

“I know! But I’m so excited!” I ran into my room and went back to my endless box of gay paraphernalia, pulling out a rainbow tulle skirt. Kakarot laughed and ran his hand through his spiky hair.

“I can see that.” He looked at me with a gentle smile, ignoring everything else in the room.

“It’s my finishing touch!” I threw off my shirt, knowing that I looked like a scrawny pixie next to Kakarot. I didn’t care.

“You’re not gonna wear a shirt?” He cocked an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head, “It’s supposed to be hot today. And even if I do get chilly,” I smirked up at him, walking over to poke him in the chest, “I can always use you to warm up again,”

I was sure if his face wasn’t striped with all different colors, he’d be blushing. That egged me on more.

“Or we could do a reenactment of earlier in front of all those homophobes.”

He pulled me into a hug, probably to hide the embarrassment all over his face, “Christ, Veg!”

“What?” I chuckled, “I know you wanna do it again.”

He held me tighter, almost threatening, “I do, but not in front of all those people. I don’t want them to see you like that.”

I laughed again, pulling away, “Like what?”

He scratched the back of his head, looking away,” I don’t know… You look beautiful when that stuff happens. I don’t want anyone else trying to get you.”

“Wow, Kakarot, fifteen hours and you’re already possessive,” I pecked him quick on the mouth, “I think that’s a new record.”

“I don’t want to sound like an asshole! I’m just… I just want to have this last as long as possible.” He frowned, mood obviously shifting.

“Hey, hey. I’m not lookin’ for anyone. You’ve got no reason to be jealous.” I hugged him.

“Considering you’re not even my boyfriend, you’re right.”

I sat silent for a second, debating with myself. We both had some serious mental illness, that much was obvious. We were both alone, not even Kakarot’s parents were nice to him. My only real parent was dead and the other one was absent. I knew I didn’t have any friends, and by the way Kakarot talked, I was pretty sure he didn’t either.

We had a chance to not be alone. To be loved by someone.

“Do you want me to be?”

He loosened his grip on my shoulders a bit, “What?”

“Do you want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, of course. I just don’t know how to have a boyfriend.”

I laughed, pulling him closer, “Me either. Guess we could teach each other,” I press my head against his chest. Both of our torsos were bare, and the feeling of my chest touching his abdomen, though innocent, was exhilarating.

“If that’s what you want.”

He took a breath, “Fifteen hours and you’re asking me out already?”

I shrugged, pressing my face further into his chest, “We both want it, so why not? It would happen eventually anyway.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“So is that it?”

He laughed to himself, “I think so. I’m not too good at this dating stuff.”

“Well,” I checked over the both of us, making sure nothing was missing. As a last minute decision I tied the flag around my neck again, and grabbed his hand, “Let’s get going, new boyfriend,” I took my phone from my chair and dragged Kakarot out the door, shouting down to my father as we went.

“Dad! We’re ready! Let’s go!”

I rounded the corner to see my father trudging from his office. He seemed pretty tired, but I chalked it up to his work and ushered him on.

“We haven’t got all day, old man.” I joked, I was in a better mood now than I had been in a while. Thoughts of going further with Kakarot in the future gave me collywobbles. 

Dad chuckled, “Alright, kid, I’m comin’,” He looked up and faltered, “Christ, boy, what the hell are you wearin’?”

I curtsied him, flaring my skirt a bit, “We’re going to a pride parade, dad. We gotta look the part, do we not?”

“You didn’t mention that part,” He rubbed his forehead, “I swear to God, Junior, you’re gonna kill me one of these days.”

I shrugged and walked Kakarot into the living room, toward the front door, “One can only hope. Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.”

Father followed behind us, snatching his keys off the rack and slipping on his shoes with a sigh.

The three of us got in the car, Kakarot and I sitting in the back seat. He was wearing a wide grin as my father started the car and backed out of the driveway, the radio already on some classic rock station. 

“What are you smilin’ about, Kakarot?” I shouldered him into the door and he laughed, pushing me back, out of the center seat.

“Nothin’ babe. Just thinking about how ridiculous this is. I’m actually excited to go out in public for once.” 

I smiled to myself before dad turned the radio down and peered at us though the rearview mirror, “Babe?”

“Oh! Uh…” Kakarot rubbed the back of his head, instantly blushing.

“Dad! Mind your own goddamn business, would you?”

He shrugged, looking back to the road, “Well, I believe it is my business, considering you’re my son and all,” he paused, smirking a bit, “Whether you want to be or not.”

I grabbed onto Kakarot’s hand, running my thumb over the back of it, “That doesn’t give you any excuse to make Kakarot uncomfortable! He has enough to cope with already, without dealing with you as well!” 

“That wasn’t my intention. My apologies, Kakarot, if I did make you uncomfortable. As far as I’m concerned, you two are consenting adults and you may date whomever you like,” Taking a left turn onto the main road, he sped up in preparation to merge onto the highway, “I’m just surprised Vegeta didn’t choose someone…” He searched for a word for a moment, “Callous. He can be quite the handful, Kakarot. Take care of my boy, won’t you?”

I scoffed, “Someone has to.”

“I am surprised you hit off so quickly, though, boys. What was it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Kakarot hesitated, before fully holding my hand and speaking his mind.

“I guess it was, I don’t know… His lack of judgement. He didn’t care about my flaws,” I squeezed his hand, “After being in a house with a homophobic father and a pushover mother, I was expecting everyone to be like that,” He leaned his head against the headrest, “But Vegeta made me comfortable without having to say anything to me, nor I him. We just kind of clicked, I think.”

Father chuckled as he went to the onramp, “That’s what it felt like with his mother and I, two peas in a pod, right from the get go,” He sighed sadly, moving in to merge with traffic, “What you boys have is rare. Not a lot of people can feel like they’ve known each other their whole lives after a few hours of knowing one another,” He sat silent for a moment, leaving us to wonder if he’d stop talking entirely. No such luck.

“Vegeta. You hold onto this boy, understand? You’re lucky to have found someone willing to deal with you at all, let alone be your partner.”

I let go of Kakarot’s hand and he flung his arm around my shoulders, hugging me close to his side, “You don’t have to tell me to keep him, father. I didn’t plan on letting him go any time soon.”

Kakarot ruffled my hair, and I looked up to see him smiling wide, staring out the window at the scenery.

“Me either.” He whispered.

“So what do you two expect me to do while you’re marching?” 

I stared off out the window with Kakarot for a moment, “Whatever you want, I guess. Richmond is a big city. We’ll be occupied until dark, probably, and I brought cash for lunch and dinner. Go to a strip club or something.”

“Vegeta! Inappropriate.”

I snorted, heaving my shoulders, “If you think that’s inappropriate, you should’ve seen the show in my room earlier.”

“Jesus Christ.”

I shrugged, still looking out the window and smirking, “What? Just ‘cause you’re too old to fuck doesn’t mean I am.”

Before my father could respond, Kakarot cut in, “Veg, we didn’t have sex, though. All I did was pick you up and-”

“Alright! I love this song.” Dad turned the music up, clearly becoming uncomfortable.

I sniggered, pulling Kakarot down so I could whisper in his ear, “I can’t wait to see what happens tonight after we get home,” 

He squeaked, grasping his hand in my hair completely out of shock. Not expecting the pull, I gasped quietly in his ear. He immediately let go, rubbing the spot in my head, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you…” He whispered to me in a panic. 

I looked up into his face, blush creeping onto my cheeks, “You didn’t.”

“Oh, alright,” I kept looking in his eyes, trying to tell him just how much that affected me without saying anything, “Oh… oh,”

I nodded, laying my head back down and putting my and over his, urging to tug again. He did so very gently, far too much for my liking.

I didn’t know I liked hair pulling. And by the way Kakarot was acting, he didn’t know he liked it either. 

His free hand was clenching and unclenching in his lap, trying to keep hold of his control. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his ear to my mouth again, “You’re a fucking tease.”

He pulled a bit more forcefully, yanking my head back so he could whisper in my ear, “I’d be doing a hell of a lot more to you right now if your dad wasn’t in the front seat. Just wait ‘til tonight. I promise I won’t keep my hands off you.”

His words sent shivers over my back and arms, small goosebumps forming at the surface of my skin, “Do you intend to tease me all day, Kakarot?”

He shrugged, taking his hand from my hair entirely, going instead to rub at my bare shoulder, “Probably. To be fair, you’ll be doing the same to me just by the way you look.”

I snarled quietly at him, slapping his hand away from my shoulder, “Well, in that case I’ll tease you even more.”

“Is that a challenge?” He mumbled into my ear with a smirk.

I nodded with resolution, “Yes. Whoever decides to risk public sex first loses.”

We both just chuckled, but we could both tell the other wasn’t kidding. Today was going to be war.

The three of us sat in silence for the majority of the rest of the ride, quietly listening to the radio. Occasionally a song Kakarot knew would come on and he would hum along with it or tap his foot. For one song he even quietly sung the whole thing, never once tearing his eyes away from the road and the combination of trees and buildings lining the sides of the highway. 

It was well noon by the time we got into Richmond, and even longer before we found the exact place of the parade. It only took a few minutes, considering the blocked off roads and the crowds of scantily and extravagantly dressed pedestrians. Father stopped the car right outside where there seemed to be a gathering of them, deciding that we were as safe as we could get in a big city like that. 

He warned us to be careful and to keep track of each other before driving off. Hand in hand, we strolled off into the march, that was already in full swing. Off to one side there was a band on the back of a pickup truck, or rather, two shirtless guys with guitars, playing sloppy original songs. They weren’t bad. 

We kept walking, running into a friendly lesbian couple that offered to help us around our first pride. They were a slightly older couple, only in their late 20’s. 

Raditz, the one with long hair, offered to cover us for lunch, but I declined. I figured it was because I wanted to prove myself to Kakarot, or something asinine like that. 

Her girlfriend, Fasha, was oddly quiet and modestly dressed. I asked Raditz about it when Kakarot had struck up a conversation with the shy one.

“She isn’t out to her family yet,” She gazed affectionately to her partner, who responded with a small smile. “We’ve been to other prides before, but she doesn’t like them all too much. She puts up with it for me.”

I smiled up at her, “She’s a sweet woman. I can tell she’s very grounded.”

Raditz nodded, walking over to loop her arm into Fashas. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. She keeps me from going off the deep end.”

Kakarot chuckled and threw an arm around my waist, “I relate. I would’ve never been able to come if it weren’t for Vegeta.”

Fasha giggled into her hand, “You two seem so comfortable. How long have you been together?”

I kind of laughed when Kakarot whistled and put his other hand behind his head.

“About two hours,” I told them, still laughing, “Things happened quite quickly.”

“Awe, you two are so cute. You sounded like you’ve been together for ages. That isn’t common.” Raditz pulled her short girlfriend into a side hug.

“Funny,” I said, removing Kakarot’s hand from my waist and holding it in my own, “My father said the same thing. Odd, isn’t it?”

The two nodded with silly smiles, “It’s obvious that you two are meant to be together, just by looking at you. Both so confident. You just radiate happiness.” Fasha complimented the two of us, holding Raditz’s hand.

“Wow, thank you,” Kakarot replied, “That’s very sweet of you to say.”

Before anyone had a chance to say anything further, a loud screeching sound rang through the street. The four of us covered our ears, looking around to see what had made the noise.

“God is angry with you!” I short man with a receding hairline stood at the front of a cluster of people holding black and yellow signs that said a variety of things.

‘AIDS  
PEDOPHILIA  
SALVATION’

‘ALL HOMOSEXUALS WORSHIP THE DEVIL’

‘MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN’

We groaned, not expecting the protestors to rear their ugly heads so soon. Before long, Raditz met my eyes with a mischievous smile. I grinned back at her, ready to begin the onslaught.

She held onto Fashas hand and I to Kakarot’s. We slowly closed the gap between ourselves and the bigots, wading though crowds of people, most of them were ignoring the Christian protesters, but a few other couples shared our idea.

Once standing in front of the red-faced man, Raditz and I pulled our respective partners close. They followed right in line, hugging us back. I grabbed onto Kakarot’s ass and kneaded hard as he leaned down and kissed me deeply. To my left, people were yelling about God and Jesus, disgusted with the show, but on my right, roaring cheers came from all around, drowning out most of the sound from the idiots. 

Kakarot chuckled into my mouth, and pulled away with a print of lopsided purple lips over the paint on his face. I chuckled and went to wipe it away, but paused. He looked absolutely stunning. I could tell that all of his nervousness had slipped away the moment I held him to me, his eyes sparkled and his smile was so wide I was sure the bigots in the back of the group could see it.

How could they be so against something this gorgeous?

“The day of judgement will come for all of you! You will regret your decisions when you are punished eternally for them!”

“Fuck you and fuck your God!” Fasha screamed at them. I chuckled to myself, guessing that she was feisty if she really wanted to be. I wouldn’t want to piss her off. A round of cheers erupted behind her, and she received a pat on the back and a few hugs from strangers. She grinned wide over her small victory.

“Love thy neighbor, ya cherry-pickin’ bastards!” I got right in the man’s face, yelling loud over his retorts. He lifted the megaphone right up to my face.

“God takes pleasure in the death of faggots! He will send all of you to hell where you will burn for your transgressions!”

I grinned wryly at him, snatching the megaphone from his grasp. He went to take it back, but I had turned away, Kakarot shielding me.

“Alright!! Raise your hands, how many of you believe in the imaginary beard in the sky?”

No one raised their hands, but a few people laughed, waiting for the show to really start.

I raised my hand, “Since when is Christianity the only religion in the world? Since when was everyone expected to follow the ‘rules’ of a book written centuries ago?!” After the cheers died down I could hear the man grumbling behind me, struggling against Kakarot to get to me. I smiled.

“For all these assholes know, we could all be actual Christians that read the Bible and really follow it, without cherry-picking,” A chorus of laughter erupted from the people around us, most of them, excluding Fasha and Raditz had made a semicircle around us, enjoying the beatdown.

“But, then again, they are pretty stupid. If that wasn’t clear yet. I’m not sure if they were able to read the whole thing.”

“That is enough! You can all confess your sins and save yourselves from eternal damnation! You’re the ones who are ignorant. You don’t even realize the magnitude of your sin!”

The old man shoved past Kakarot and grabbed the megaphone out of my hands. I didn’t resist and just handed it over, smiling condescendingly. 

“REPENT OR BE DAMNED!”

I chuckled, leaning in close the the mic without him noticing until it was too late. 

“I had no idea that this was what God told you to do, going out in public and threatening people with ‘hell’ instead of, oh, I don’t know, volunteering at a homeless shelter or donating non perishables,” I held my hand out for Kakarot to take it, walking off. 

“We don’t give a shit about your beliefs, man. Go spend your time somewhere where people want you around.”

I wrapped Kakarot’s arm around my shoulders, walking off through the part in the crowd that had opened for us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Raditz flip him off and follow in-step behind us.

“That was awesome, Vegeta! I didn’t know you could pack all that sassy into such a small body.” Raditz patted me firmly on the head.

I shrugged, grinning happily, “I guess it’s a gift,” I looked up to Kakarot, “Babe, you hungry? It’s just about time for lunch. 

He nodded, clenching at his stomach with his free hand, “Yeah, I don’t think I ate anything before we left the house. I could really go for some nasty fried food.”

I nodded at him, dragging him toward a food court.

 

After Vegeta bought me some food, which I ate far too quickly, we went off with Fasha and Raditz to see the rest of the parade. We passed a few drag queens, and Vegeta really wasn’t kidding. They go to the extreme. After passing two of them, obviously a couple, I looked down to Vegeta to ask a question, but stopped when I saw how starstruck he looked. I could tell that he was really enjoying himself, so I didn’t interrupt his admiration. 

We did pass a few more groups of protesters, but we ignored them for the most part; we just wanted to enjoy ourselves without picking fights with random strangers. 

Vegeta never let go of my hand the whole time. He alternated from lacing our fingers together to jacking my arm over his shoulders and holding my hand on the other side. Either way, I was happy to have that contact with him.

He was right. It wasn’t cold at all. I attributed it to the amount of live bodies in this tight space, we were like a waddle of penguins, huddled together to keep each other warm. Everyone that we struck up conversation with was kind. No one was judgemental and a few people asked our pronouns out of respect. It made me really happy. 

I was expecting Pride to be somewhat like a carnival, or Mardi Gras, but it was just a big party full of queer people. Aside from the food vendors, there wasn’t much else going on. Some people sat in circles on the ground in groups, playing games, and some people were handing out t-shirts. The four of us just walked around and enjoyed ourselves.

Everything was going perfectly until we passed a particular group of homophobes. 

We had planned to ignore them, but there wasn’t a lot we could’ve done to prepare for that.

“Kakarot Myles!”

I froze. That couldn’t have been anyone else.

My father strode over to me with furious anger in his eyes, emerging from the clump or protesters. 

“Care to explain what you’re doing here?!”

I let go of Vegeta’s hand, scratching the back of my head, “Uh…”

“Look at you! You look ridiculous. I’m taking you home right now!” He grabbed onto my wrist pulling me away from Vegeta.

He ran to stand in front of my father, holding his hands out, “Like fuck you will!”

Dad snarled, winding his fist back to knock Vegeta out. Before I could stop him, he swung, but Vegeta blocked the hit with his forearm, closing in on us.

“You let him go right now.”

Dad chuckled, Clenching onto my wrist harder. I winced. 

“And what are you gonna do about it, fag?! He is my son and I will not allow him to hang around a cock jockey like you! I knew that sending him over was a mistake. I could tell you were a faggot right from the moment I saw you! Now got out of my way before I hurt you!”

Vegeta crossed his arms, stepping in front of my father every time he went to make a move, “You won’t lay a hand on me or my Kakarot. You’ll sooner be in a hospital.”

He cocked his fist back again, “Ignorant runt!”

As his arm came back, I grabbed onto the crook of his elbow, keeping him from following through, “Dad, leave him alone.”

He whirled on me, scowling deeply, “For what!? Look at what he’s done to you!” 

I yanked my wrist from his grip unsuccessfully. It only angered him more.

“I’ve always been like this! Vegeta just helped me to see that I shouldn’t be ashamed of myself! If anything, I’m ashamed to be your son, you bastard!”

Without replying he cracked me hard across the face, taking off some of the red and orange paint. It stung like mad, but I didn’t dare cry in front of my father like that. 

“You are coming home, now! We are bringing to to confession this weekend and we’re going to stop this nonsense. I refuse to have my own blood sent to hell for something this ridiculous!” He went to snatch on my wrist again, but I yanked my hand away before he could get ahold of it.

“I’d rather burn in hell with Vegeta than go back to that shithole of a house with you. Fuck off, Bardock.”

As he went back to actually punch me in the face, Vegeta hopped onto his arm, clinging for dear life.

“You bastard! You keep your hands off him!”

My father’s attention was successfully directed to Vegeta, but that didn’t make things any better. With his weak hand he swung as hard as he could, knocking Vegeta around a few times. I began to panic.

“Hey, you! Stop that!”

Three security guards rushed over to us, with Fasha and Raditz in tow. They pulled Bardock off of Vegeta, holding his hands behind his back. Vegeta stood up and rubbed a red spot on his forehead, glowering angrily at him.

“He was trying to beat Kakarot up, I wasn’t gonna just let him do that.”

One of the guards smiled compassionately at Vegeta, nodding, “You did good, son. We’ll take him to the county jail for the night. He’ll be getting punished, don’t you worry.”

“Thank you for helping,” Raditz praised the guards as they carted Bardock away. “There was nothing we could’ve done to help sooner, so we got some officers to help. Are you alright?” 

The two of them rushed forward, each checking our faces for damage. Neither of us were bleeding, but Vegeta had a few nasty bruises already blossoming. My dad was too strong for his own good.

Vegeta shouldered the girls off, rushing over to me, holding my face between his hands. 

“Did that bastard hurt you? Oh, God, Kaka I’m so sorry,” He hugged me tight, planting his face into my sternum. “I could’ve stopped him from slapping you. Fuck!”

I patted his back, “It’s alright, Veg. I’m okay. What about you? Are you hurt?”

He nodded silently, clutching onto the fabric of the back of my shirt. He looked up to me with sad eyes, “I think we need to go home now. It’s dusk anyway. We don’t need to be getting in any more fights.”

I nodded in agreement as Vegeta pulled his phone from the spandex under his skirt, calling his dad.

“Yeah, dad. Yeah, we’re ready. Just pick us up where you left us, alright? Okay, bye.”

We thanked Raditz and Fasha and exchanged phone numbers, leaving with a bit of regret on our shoulders. 

“I’m not going home.” I told him quietly. 

“I don’t want you to go home. I’ll fight anyone and everyone for it.”

I shook my head, “You won’t have to fight anyone. I’m eighteen, I can move out on my own if I want to, my parents have no say in the matter because I’m a legal adult. The question is where I’ll stay.”

“You’ll stay with us,” Vegeta said, leaving no room for argument. 

I sighed, “That’s up to your father. I won’t invite myself.”

“My father will say yes to anything that keeps me from throwing a fit. You’ll stay with us. He likes you, so the chances he’ll say no at all after we tell him what happened are slim to none.”

I rubbed his shoulder, adjusting his flag so it covers him. It was getting chilly and I didn’t want him to get sick.

“If you say so. Hopefully my father will be in jail long enough for me to grab my things from the house if it works out like that.”

We came to the intersection where Vegeta’s dad dropped us off to find him waiting on the side of the road in the running car. We hopped in the back with a sigh, not realizing how cold we actually were until we were in the heat of the car.

“Jesus Christ! What happened to you!?” He palmed at Vegeta’s face but was quickly brushed off.

“Kakarot’s asshole father was there to protest. He spotted us and tried to hit him but I wouldn’t let that happen, so he beat me. It’s nothing too bad.”

He shrugged, but I could see the strain in his muscles. He was hurt worse than he let on.

“Hell. Well, I’m not gonna let you go back into such an environment, Kakarot. I want you to stay as long as you want, so you don’t have to be with your father anymore. That is ridiculous.”

“Actually, dad, I was thinking we could move him in. He doesn’t really have anywhere else to go and he’s not a delinquent, if you don’t count getting into fights in public.”

His dad chuckled before nodding, “That sounds like the best option. There will be some things I have to work out, but it shouldn’t be an issue at all. I’ll call your mother and tell her that you’ve decided to move out. Or would you rather talk to her yourself?”

I shrugged, “I feel like I should give my mother that, at least. Thank you, Vegeta, for letting me stay.”

“No problem, kid. Let’s get going. I’ll get takeout for dinner.”

He pulled away from the curb, heading toward home. 

Our home, now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last chapter!   
> The last chapter will be a little shorter than average, so sorry about that!   
> But really, this was originally supposed to be a short one shot, so, uh, I think I got carried away.

It was very late by the time we got home. Vegeta’s dad ordered take out in the car and picked it up on our way. We started to eat in the car, before even pulling in the driveway because we were so hungry.

Once we carted ourselves and all our food into the house, Vegeta and I stationed ourselves on the couch in the livingroom. He flicked on a random movie and kept eating until his Chinese container was emptied of every last grain of rice. 

The two of us kicked back on either side of the sofa, laying with our legs intertwined with each other. 

Really, Vegeta just laid down between my legs, being short enough to make a nest out of them. I smirked at him from across the couch, watching him watch the action movie with undivided interest. His dad quietly crept into the room, tapping my shoulder.

“Hey kid. Let’s wait to call your ma until tomorrow, alright? It’s already late and I don’t want her to have to sleep on it like that.”

I nodded, shrugging, “Yeah, that would be the best idea. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’m sure she already knows that my father was sent into jail for the night, so I don’t feel like adding to that mess just yet.”

He sighed, patting me again. He looked between Vegeta, the TV, and I, “You need anything? I know that tonight was rough.”

I shook my head, glancing over to Vegeta, who was still oblivious, “No, I’ve got everything I need.”

“Alright kiddo. If you need me I’ll be in my office.” He walked away, leaving Vegeta and I by ourselves.

I hadn’t been interested in the movie. I inspected Vegeta’s face, noting the bruises around his eyes and mouth. There was a bit of dried blood under his nose as well. 

“Babe?”

He kept his eyes on the TV, “Hn?”

“You alright? We should probably shower, it’s getting late.”

He glanced over to me with a wicked smile, “You want to shower?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, “Well, yeah. I’m still covered in paint and stuff. I’d like to have it off before we go to bed.”

He grabbed the remote off the table and turned the television off, then took my hand and dragged me off the couch.

“Let’s go shower, then.”

“W-what? You mean together?”

“Mhm. Why? Do you not want to?”

I eased into holding his hand, and walking with him instead of making him drag me, “It’s not… It’s just, don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“Kakarot, honestly. We’re showering, not fucking,” He smirked, “Think of it as a bonding experience.”

I scoffed, rounding the corner into the bathroom with him, “You say that, but you’ll be the first one to do something dirty.”

He threw a towel at me with a laugh, “You say that like it’s a challenge.” 

I unraveled the towel and smacked him in the head with it, “It’s not! I’m not sure about you, but I’m not too keen on having my first memory of us like that being in your shower with your father in the next room.”

He snorted, “Way to ruin the mood, mentioning my father.” He stuck his hand in the shower, twisting the knob and adjusting the temperature.

“There wasn’t a mood in the first place. Get in.”

He sent a sly grin my way, “Eager, aren’t we?”

I pulled the crop top over my head, throwing it in a pile on the floor, “Shut up.”

He shook his head, still smiling, and untied the flag from around his neck, folding it and setting it on the toilet seat cover before shucking his skirt off.

Before much time passed, we were standing stark nude in the small bathroom with matching cherry faces. We carefully avoided looking down as we stepped into the shower without words exchanged.

Somehow we wordlessly communicated ourselves into a cycle, switching spots every few minutes. I watched as flecks of dried paint flowed away into the drain as I washed my face.

I felt a nervous touch on my back. It made me jump a little. I knew he was looking at me, and it didn’t bother me at all, but I wasn’t expecting him to get brave enough to touch me. Even if it was only my back.

“Kakarot?”

“Hm?”

He flattened his palm against the center of my back, fingertips twitching a little bit, “Uh, I’m not sure how…”

I turned with a gentle smile, running my hands through my hair to get it thoroughly wet. Vegeta’s face was intense with blush, but I wasn’t about to point it out, I was sure I wasn’t in much better shape.

“You can touch me if you want to, if that’s what you’re trying to ask. I don’t mind,”

He looked at his hand on my sternum with a debating look. He joined it with his other hand, stepping closer and spreading them, pulling me into a slow hug.

I felt my heart do a weird lurching feeling. Something soft and innocent was translated through that hug. Nothing sexual about it, even when our bodies became flush with one another and there was nothing left to hide. He rested the side of his face against my chest, closing his eyes and feeling up and down my back with his spread fingers. I sighed and leaned over him, pushing my fingers into his hair and laying my head on top of his.

We stood under the steaming water like that for a few minutes, holding each other and existing, nothing else.

“As much as I love this, Vegeta, we have to finish up here in a few minutes,” I gently pulled him away from me, “I’m all done, anyway. You wash your hair and meet me upstairs, yeah?”

He nodded with a strange smile on his face. I gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before switching spots with him and stepping out of the shower, grabbing my towel from the sink.

I quickly dried myself and tied the towel around my waist, scooping up our dirty clothes and strolling my way upstairs. 

I put our dirties in Vegeta’s hamper and set his flag in his still open tote,setting the top on it. I pulled on some loose boxers and slid into bed, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with me. 

Before I could really settle in, Vegeta came in with his towel, casually unwrapping himself and tossing it to the hamper, going to his closet and picking a pair of briefs and an oversized t-shirt. He threw them on unceremoniously and came to the bed, lazily flopping on top of me. I laughed and wrapped my arms around him.

“You have a cute butt.” I commented.

“Thank you, I grew it myself,” He added, his words mumbled by my chest, “I’m tired now.”

I laced my fingers in his damp hair, gently untangling it, “You’ve been tired for a while, cutie. Both of us have.”

He brought a pruny hand up to stroke my face, “I don’t want to go to bed yet. I just wanna lay here with you.”

“That’s cute and all, babe, but I live here now. You have plenty of time to cuddle with me later,” I pulled him up a bit so I could kiss his forehead, “It’s pretty late anyway. We’ve been up for much longer than we should.”

“Hm,” He reached over to his chair, grabbing his phone, “Bed, then. Couldn’t hurt.”

Soft music came from his phone as he set it down again, wrapping his arms around my torso and getting comfortable. I smiled and looked up at the ceiling, putting one hand in his hair, the other on his back. Exhaustion caught up to me, and my eyes slipped closed, not moving until the morning.

My eyes were sticky with sleep when I tried to open them. The bedroom was bright enough that it had to have been around noon.

Finally prising my eyes open, I found Vegeta curled up on top of me, sighing softly. My hand was still set in his hair and I pulled it gently, enjoying the feeling of him laying next to me. We lay like that for a few minutes before I decided to carefully remove myself from the bed without disturbing him, and headed for the bathroom. 

I rubbed my sleepy eyes as I stalked my way down the stairs, still in my boxers.

“Hey, kiddo. Sleep well?”

I nod sleepily, stifling a yawn with my hand, “Yeah, Mr. Vegeta. Thank you.”

“What do you feel like for breakfast? I can make it or we can go out, up to you.”

I shrugged, waving him off, “Have Vegeta decide. I don’t care either way. He should be waking up soon.”

I continued my quest to the bathroom, swinging the door open and not bothering to close it before pissing into the bowl. I washed my hands and fixed my hair a bit before walking out to see Vegeta walking down the stairs in his dress of a shirt that he slept in.

I met him halfway, pulling him into a loose hug, “What do you feel like for breakfast, Bug?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and pounded his head against my chest a few times, “IHOP.”

I turned my head back to the kitchen, giving his father a happy smile, “He wants IHOP.”

He clapped his hands on the table, “IHOP it is. You boys get dressed, we’ll call you mother, Kakarot, and pick up your things on our way home, alright?”

I nod, rubbing my hand over the nape of Vegeta’s neck, “Sounds good,” I look down at Vegeta, leaning down to whisper in his hair, “Come on, babe. Let’s go get pancakes.”

He smushed his face into me, “I... want red velvet.”

I chuckled and led him to the stairs, ushering him up, “You can get whatever you want, cutie, but you gotta change first.”

We made our way up to the landing, Vegeta sleepily tumbling in, “Can you pick my clothes for me? Too sleepy.”

I shook my head with a smile, “Sure, I guess. Don’t expect me to make you look cute, though. I don’t want anyone lookin’ at you.”

He sat up with a pout, “Nevermind, then. I wanna look cute, not like a garbage bag.” He got up, moving to his closet. I stood behind him, grabbing his waist and pulling him against me, leaning over his shoulder to nibble at his neck.

“I think you’ll be cute no matter what you put on.”

He scoffed and playfully shoved me off, rifling through his rack of clothes, “Well that’s it, Kakarot. Maybe I want you to not be able to stop looking at me all day.”

I laughed and sat on the bed, “Tease.”

He threw off his oversized shirt, tossing it into the hamper, “You love it.”

He pulled on some light blue jeans and a white t-shirt, throwing a plaid button-down over it. I smirked at him.

“Cutie.”

“Shut the fuck up and get dressed.”

I held out my hands and got up, “Jeez, alright, grumpy,” I put my worn clothes in the hamper, muttering, “You need a good bone, huh? That’ll put you in a better mood.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me while buttoning his shirt, “‘Scuse you?”

“Oh, nothin’.” I pulled on a plain black t-shirt and some dark jeans.

He straightened his shirt before pulling on some black socks, “Save that for later. We can’t fuck now, we’ve got shit to do.”

I pouted, crossing my arms like a spoilt child, “But Veggie,” I walked over to him, grabbing at his hips again, “That can wait. I want you.”

He shoved me, giving me small smirk, “Are you always this horny in the morning? I’m sensing a pattern.”

I laughed lightly, “Probably,” I brought my lips down to his neck, kissing the still purple bruise I gave him yesterday morning, “Only one way to find out, though.”

He fully pushed me off, heading for the door, “Later, Kakarot. Meanwhile, try to keep it in your pants, huh?”

I shook my head, “You ask so much of me.”

He looked back at me before heading downstairs, “If you’re like this now, I can’t even imagine what will happen once you get a piece of me.”

I rolled my eyes, pulling him into a tender hug, “It’ll be less. Once I’m sated I’ll calm down.”

He patted me, pulling away with a smirk, “We’ll see, Kakarot.”

We went out the door and headed down the stairs, seeing Vegeta’s dad standing in the kitchen with his phone to his face, tapping his foot anxiously.

“Oh! Kakarot, good. You’re here. Your mother is on the phone,” He turned his attention to the phone, “He’s right here, Gine.” He handed the phone to me, immediately crossing his arms once his hands were empty. I sighed in exasperation, bringing the phone to my ear.

“Good morning, mother.”

“Kakarot! I cannot believe you would do such a thing! Do you have any idea what’s happened to your father?!”

I closed my eyes impatiently, “Yes. He assaulted me in public and was sent to jail for the night, possibly more.”

She audibly groaned, “He hardly assaulted you, Kakarot. He was disciplining you. You’re being melodramatic.”

I half crossed my arms, propping the phone on my shoulder, “Well, aside from him laying his hands on me, he left Vegeta with a few bruises and a black eye. That’s not discipline. He’s not even his kid! We’re legal adults!” I pinched the bridge of my nose, “I don’t need to be smacked around like a fucking toddler, mother!”

She gasped, “You watch your mouth, Kakarot! I’m coming to get you today, so prepare your things!”

I shook my head and sat down at the table, leaning on my elbow, “I’m not going home mother. I’m staying here with Vegeta. I’ll be over in a few hours to get my things.” I left no room for argument, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

“You can’t just move out! And live with people you’ve known for two days, no less! Your behavior is unacceptable, Kakarot. Do you have any idea what you’re putting your father and I though with this homosexual nonsense?”

I rolled my eyes, switching the phone to my other hand. I looked at Vegeta with a gentle smile. Mother was being loud enough to be heard from across the room, “Mother, there is no argument. I’m not coming back. You and father can handle yourselves. You’re grown adults, as am I. These ‘people’ have treated me with more respect in two days than you’ve given me in eighteen years,”

I paused, catching my breath. I felt myself getting that tight feeling in my chest I got when I got too upset. I heard her breathe in to retort, but I cut her off, “And my homosexuality is not nonsense, nor is it your business. I’m not going to spend my time somewhere I have to pretend when I already have a new, far better family willing to take me in. Goodbye, mother. I’ll be there in a bit to clean out my room.” 

She went quiet for a minute before sighing dejectedly, “I’ll gather your things for you. You are no longer welcome in my house.”

I closed my eyes and debated with myself before hanging up without a response. I handed the phone back to Vegeta’s dad and pulled Vegeta into a tight hug. Without asking he hugged me back, leaning his head against mine when I bent over him with a shiver.

I bit at my lips, “She disowned me.”

He held me closer, trying to comfort me. I didn’t need comforting, “I’m so sorry, Kaka.”

I shook my head into his shoulder, “I’m relieved, really. It’s just confirmation that they won’t come here and try to force me back home.”

Vegeta rubbed his hands up and down my back all slow, “You are home.”

I straightened and kissed him gently on the forehead, “I know,” I paused for a minute, steadying my breath. I turned to my new dad with a smile. “Well, pop, breakfast calls. Let’s get going.”

He chuckled quietly and pocketed his phone, “Are you sure you’re up to seeing her? I can always grab your things for you.”

I shook my head, “I need to prove myself. I’m not ashamed of anything. And I’m definitely brave enough to face my mother. She can’t do anything to me anymore.”

“Well, kiddo. I’m proud. Let’s go have pancakes to celebrate.” He walked past Vegeta and I, slipping on his shoes and taking his keys from the rack on the wall. The two of us followed suit, pulling our own shoes on and piling into the back seat. I glance in the back, glad the car had plenty of cargo space for my belongings. I didn’t want to have to make more than one trip. 

I buckled myself and checked that Vegeta was buckled in the middle before pulling him closer by the shoulders. He nested into me, messing up the collar of his flannel. I smoothed it down and gave him another forehead smooch.

“Thanks again for taking me in…”

Dad waved his hand while backing out of the driveway, “I’m glad to, kid. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t like your father from the beginning, he gave the the heebie jeebies,” He pulled into the road, shifting the gears and driving off, “Besides, you make Vegeta happy. Happiest I’ve seen him in a long time. Not only do I owe you for it, but I don’t want you two to be apart. It’s good for both of you,” He paused, a slow smile spreading on his lips, “I should call Nappa and thank him.”

“Still, it really means a lot. I had no idea how terrible living there was until I came here,” I absentmindedly carded my hands through Vegeta’s hair, “It’s actually a bit disturbing. Even moreso with how quickly my mother decided to drop me. Guess I’m not worth the trouble.”

Vegeta stayed silent but grabbed onto my leg, running his thumb back and forth comfortingly. I smile down at the top of his head, laying my own down on it. 

“You’re well worth it, Kakarot. And really, it disturbs me, as a parent, seeing someone give up on their kid so easy. Or at all, really. I’d go to hell and back for my kid.”

I felt Vegeta take a steady breath next to me. He didn’t say anything but is finally acknowledging his father’s efforts for him. He’s resented his dad for so long that he hasn’t seen everything that he’s given up to take care of him. I’m happy he’s finally coming around. 

Dad can see it, too. He noticed all the shifting in Vegeta’s mood, the openness and the lack of snarky comments. At least, less of them.

I don’t know how Vegeta was before I showed up, he immediately acclimated to my company, softening so quickly that I had a hard time adjusting. I guess we both had mood issues. 

I remembered Vegeta saying something about a therapist, but he never expanded on it. It was obviously a sensitive subject for him. As it would be with anyone, really. If my parents bothered bringing me anywhere other than Nappa’s place, I wouldn’t want to talk about it either. 

They only brought me because they were hoping to ‘treat the gay away’, which wasn’t only pointless but borderline abusive. The homophobia in that house was toxic and made me miserable. I thanked whatever God may exist that I was graced with Vegeta. 

Still drowsy from deep sleep and waking up early, Vegeta was breathing deeply against my chest, his head inching lower and lower with every exhale. I smiled a bit and propped his head back up, running my thumb on his chin as he groaned a bit. He still wanted to sleep. I had to guess that he slept all the time before I came, and his body was still adjusting to waking up and staying up. He had look like he had just rolled out of bed when I first saw him, after all. 

Our relationship has been one solid hunk of comfort from the beginning. I never really saw his ‘bad side’, he was never really mean to me, never shouted at me. It felt nice to have someone just exist next to you and let you be yourself. No judgement, no anger, only a dull, comfortable silence that seemed that the whole world outside our bedroom was gone, and only we were left.

I blinked, coming back into my thoughts. My eyes searched the busy city streets, looking for the IHOP.

I found it and shook Vegeta awake, pointing it out to him. He smiled sleepily and ran a hand down his face to wake himself up. 

A few seconds later we pulled in and parked, taking a second to breathe before getting out and crossing the parking lot to go inside.

It was busy, to say the least. Saturday mornings seemed to be the popular time to go get pancakes. A small waitress came to direct us to an open table, immediately asking what we’d like for drinks.

“Coffee, straight black, thanks.” Dad rubbed his bleary eyes, adjusting to the fluorescent lighting of the restaurant.

“Chocolate milk?” Vegeta asked the waitress, who nodded happily and jotted it down in her little order pad.

“And for you?” She looked at me, pan still poised. 

“Uh, I’ll have chocolate milk too. Thank you.”

She smiled at us, slipping her notebook into her half apron, “Alright, I’ll be right back, boys.”

Dad sat opposite Vegeta and I, only making sense, as his broader body took up a good portion of his side of the table. 

I found myself marveling at how completely different and also identical the two of them looked. The same sharp hair and pointy nose, same below-average height (though dad was still far taller than Vegeta), and that same hardly noticeable cleft in the chin.

But dad was a man. An older, stronger person that had developed a semi-muscular body at some point. As far as I knew he didn’t work out, or really ever leave the house unless necessary, or upon Vegeta’s request. 

Aside from that, Vegeta, again, is a scrawny little thing. I bet he used to be a little athletic before his mom passed away, but his body sort of atrophied when he started doing nothing but sleeping all day. It made me sad, to think about it, so I ignored that pity gripping my chest and threw my arm around his shoulder, his head immediately finding my chest. 

He sighed, leaning sideways against the crook of my neck and shoulder, “I want red velvet.”

I chuckled and stroked his jaw with my thumb, “I know, babe. You can get red velvet.”

He nodded, still fighting off exhaustion, “Part of me wishes I got coffee.” He yawned quietly into his hand. I shook my head with another quiet laugh.

“No, coffee is terrible for you. Sugar isn’t much better than caffeine, but at least it tastes good.”

He nodded in agreement, “I guess so. Coffee is really gross. I don’t know, I just want to go back to bed.”

I cocked a brow at him, peering down past my bottom lashes, “You weren’t this tired yesterday morning, what happened?”

He shook his head, fuming, “Your shithead of a father happened. I was excited to go to pride, so I didn’t feel tired, and then we met Raditz and Fasha and we had a good time. But then that damned Bardock showed up and had to ruin the rest of our night and my face.”

I nodded small, chewing the inside of my cheek, “Sorry about that. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

He shrugged, “I don’t care. I was protecting you. I doubt he would’ve hit you as hard as he hit me, but the fact that he even tried to was enough to make my blood boil.”

“I hope I never have to see him again.”

Dad nodded, propping himself up on his elbows, “With any luck you won’t but your father doesn’t strike me as someone who gives up easily.”

He wasn’t wrong, my father has never backed down from anyone until he got his way, “You’re right about that, but I’m not his kid anymore. Mom said so herself, so if he has half a brain he’ll stay away from Vegeta and completely out of my sight. He won’t be getting away unscathed if he tries anything.”

“Whoa, Kakarot, you alright?” Vegeta placed a careful hand on my bicep. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

“Yeah. Sorry. I’m just… I’m furious that he even touched you, let alone left you with bruises,” I gaze at his face, gently running a fingertip over the scabbing cut on his cheekbone, “I’m happy I’m out of that house now.”

The two of them nodded in agreement just as the waitress came back with our drinks. She set them down, quickly glancing at my arm slung over Vegeta. She cleared her throat and straightened up.

“You all set to order?”

“Can I get red velvet pancakes?” Vegeta chimed in immediately. 

“Of course you can. And you?”

She took the rest of our orders, leaving in a hurry to go tend to the other filled tables. 

“Did you see the way she looked at you, Kakarot?” Vegeta looked up at me, an unreadable expression on his face.

“I think she was looking at both of us, rather than just me. You are kind of nesting on me.”

He grimaced, “Well, screw her! She doesn’t know anything!”

I patted his opposite shoulder with my extended arm, “Calm yourself, Bug. It’s no big deal. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

I felt him relax against me, settling back into the nook he had made for himself. 

We sat in silence for what seemed like only a few minutes before I heard a murmur behind us.

“I can’t believe he’s not doing anything… Kids, doing things like that in public. It’s repulsive.”

I didn’t have to look around to know that they were talking about us. I sat calmly in my seat next to Vegeta, my arm curling tighter around his shoulders to hug him against my chest. He hadn’t seemed to notice the onlookers and their rude comments, so I didn’t point them out. I just gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead, and admired the way his smile curled into his eyes as he nuzzled up closer to me.

A different waitress came with our food, setting down our meals next to their respective person. Before I had a chance to do anything with my food, Vegeta had grabbed onto the syrup at the end of the table and practically dumped a lake of it on his plate. I gave him a cockeyed grin before tucking in, going right for my bacon first.

We weren’t very talkative with each other while eating, we were just focused on eating our hunger away. The sound of the rude people behind me were drowned out by the sound of my chewing and three plates being poked and scraped. I hoped that Vegeta was just as deaf to it. He didn’t need all of that, considering what happened last night at the parade. 

With my food gone, I sat back in the booth, lining my arms along the backrest. The booth behind us was empty, most of the customers gone now that the breakfast rush was over. Vegeta was still enamored by his pancakes when a straight couple walked from behind us, eyeing me with unshielded disgust. I glared at them in return, scooting closer to Vegeta. No one was going to make me feel like loving Vegeta isn’t the best thing I had done with my life thus far.

But that didn’t matter to me. I would never see those people or the homophobes at the rally ever again. Incidents would be in passing. We’ll never get away from the pressure of society to like boobs. That’s just how life was for us. 

And it was worth it a thousand times over.

Before much time passed, we left with happy bellies. Dad started the car without a word, pleasantly humming to himself as he turned the radio on and pulled out, driving off to the main roads again. “That was a nice breakfast. I enjoyed myself.”

Vegeta nodded, scooting himself closer to me, almost sitting in my lap, “I agree. I just wanted my red velvet pancakes.”

I chuckled to myself. That boy and his pancakes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter!

It didn’t take long to get back to my mother’s house. It was kind of on the way, but we had to take a little detour that cost us ten minutes.

Pulling into the driveway, my heart immediately went up into my throat.

On the wrap around porch were all of my things. Everything sat bundled into big black trash bags. I was expecting that much, but what I wasn’t expecting was her to be leaning against one of the railings with a mug of coffee in her hands. Before even getting out of the car can see black streaks of makeup on her cheeks and I can’t help but roll my eyes. 

This would’ve been completely avoidable if she and my father hadn’t treated me like a freak since I came out to them. 

It’s tragic, I thought that they would be supportive and loving, all the things that a parent is supposed to be when their child is going through unfamiliar territory.

I unbuckled and hopped out of the car, motioning for Vegeta to stay put, that I could handle myself. 

Wordlessly, I make my last trip toward that house, grabbing as many bags as I could in both arms and walking back to the car, tossing them in the trunk that Dad had popped for me.

I continue the routine until the porch sat empty, save for my still mourning mother.

As I went to grab the last bag, she set her cup on the railing and threw herself on top of me, sobbing and crying out my name in sorrow. 

I shove her off, looking down at her in disgust, “Don’t.”

She held her hands out, “But, Kakarot, son-”

“I’m not your son anymore,” I snap at her, “I wasn’t the moment your husband laid his hands on my Vegeta.”

She recoiled at my words but I had no sympathy for her, and probably couldn’t even if I tried. She thought that Vegeta making me happy was wrong, and the only thing _wrong_ in this situation was her and my father. 

I glared at her, and she started to tear up again, “B-but, Kakarot…”

“No, Gine,” She stopped when I used her first name, “Leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you.” And with that, I put space between us and brought the last bag to the trunk and shut it. I leaned on it, taking a deep breath and containing myself. With one last glare in her direction, I went back to the car door and slid in next to Vegeta, who cuddled right up next to me.

Without ceremony, dad backed out of the driveway and turned to head home. I didn’t bother looking out the window.

 

Kakarot looked upset, to say the least. I couldn’t help but worry about him.

“You alright?” The rumbling of the road in our seats made his silence all that more brooding. He nodded. I sucked in my bottom lip to chew on it out of concentration and rested my head against his arm again. He sighed.

“I’m glad that’s over,” I could tell he wanted to say more, so I didn’t respond. After a few moments, he took a breath, “I just can’t believe I had dealt with that shit for so long and had done nothing about it. I feel so stupid.”

I slid my fingers against his hand to lock them together, “You’re not stupid. It could’ve gotten a lot worse if you hadn’t decided to stay with us. I’m relieved that you’re at least safe now.”

He didn’t say anything else, just opened his palm to capture my hand in his own, and we spent the rest of the ride home in silence.

Pulling into our driveway felt different than it normally did. It felt like we were moving in all over again. In an unspoken coordinated effort, the three of us moved all of Kakarot’s belongings up the stairs and into my room in one trip. Father bade us good luck in organizing everything and headed downstairs to his office. 

Kakarot and I sat on the edge of our bed, staring at the pile of black bags on the floor. 

“I might have to get rid of some things.” He said blankly. I shook my head and latched onto his hand again.

“No you won't, the dresser is yours. And this room is big enough to fit a lot more stuff. It should be fine.”

He shrugged, “I guess so,” and smoothly slid from the bed to stand up. He took a deep breath before pulling one of the bags open. Kakarot sighed.

“God, I hate my mother.” He pulled out a mess of unfolded clothes to look underneath and sighed again. He dumped the whole bag out onto the floor and checked the other ones. He emptied two more and started folding and organizing them into the drawers. I kneeled on the floor to help fold, and soon we had a smooth system going. 

It took twenty minutes, but once all of Kakarot’s clothes were folded and put away, the remaining bags looked a lot less intimidating. He opened the one that obviously had his guitar case in it, and pulled it out. He peeked inside to see that everything was still intact before leaning it against the wall next to mine. 

Kakarot seemed less interested in the rest of his things, but I could see him slowly relax. Every few minutes he would take a second to breathe, and I just stared at him and waited to continue. 

He lined a few pairs of shoes against the wall near the door, along with a heavy winter jacket on the coat rack downstairs. With everything put away, there was one item left at the bottom of the last bag. Kakarot reached in to pull it out. His face fell.

“What is it?” I asked, moving behind him only to see that he had an old weathered sketchbook sitting in his palm. I cocked my head.

He closed his eyes, “This is the book I wrote songs in when I was smaller. I wonder how much she had to go through my room to get this.”

“Songs?”

He nodded and opened the front cover. The title page had his handwriting all over it. His name, age, the date he got the book and everything. He also seemed to test a few dry pens on it every once in awhile. I couldn’t stop the happy grin that invaded my face. 

“I haven’t written any original songs in years…” He flipped idly through the pages, running his long fingers over the old tabs that he wrote in pencil. They seemed to have faded a lot over the time they’d been sitting wherever they were.

“Can you still play them?” I asked, scanning the symbols on the pages. He laughed to himself a bit and shrugged.

“Probably. Later, though. I just… Kinda want to relax for now,” He sat down on the bed and turned away from me, taking a deep sigh. I chewed on my lip and laid down next to him, running my hands up and down his back, “That feels nice.” He hummed to himself, rubbing his head into the pillow beneath it.

I let go of my lip and close my eyes, “Uh, Kakarot… I’ve been thinking.”

He paused, as if he was about to say something sarcastic, but went along with my train of thought, “About what?”

I silently sucked in a preparing breath. I couldn’t help but be nervous, it had been on my mind since last night, “Do you want to make love to me?” I whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear. After a second or two, Kakarot turned to face me. He looked confused and flushed. I felt grateful that I didn’t have to repeat myself, but then again, it only meant that his response would come faster.

He looked down, like he was contemplating something before blushing further, “I-I, uh, I didn’t think you would ask so soon.”

I closed my eyes, “I was only asking, we don’t have to if you’re not up to it right now.” I wanted to make it clear to him that he had a choice, I felt like he hadn’t been given that lately. 

He shook his head fast, “No! No, I want to, I just… It’s a little unexpected. I thought you would’ve wanted to wait a bit longer.” He grabbed my hands in his, squeezing tight enough to be borderline painful. I leaned forward and kissed him gently to silence his worries.

“I’ve been thinking about it from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

He searched my face for a minute before nodding, “If you trust me.”

I pulled my hands from his and stood, assuring him that I would be back in just a minute. I went down the stairs and into the bathroom, searching under the sink for that petroleum my father had mentioned before. 

I quickly made my way back to my room. My heart was beating fast, and I knew that it wasn’t from running up and down the stairs. I came in without opening the door much and closed it quietly. I paused for a second before deciding that it would be a good idea to lock it. 

I flipped the lock and looked back to Kakarot, who looked just as red as I felt. I stared at him for a moment, just appreciating the fact that he was there with me, that we were about to lay in bed together and…

It hurt my chest to think about it. I was nervous, painfully so, but I trusted Kakarot in a way that I hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time. With a deep breath, I tried to keep myself steady as I walked back to my bed. He gave me a gentle smile and I tossed the tub of lube onto the bed sheets. 

“You’re nervous,” he commented.

I just nodded. He smiled again, “You want me to take over now?”

I nodded again and shrugged off my flannel. It fell to the floor with a quiet fwap and I had to take another breath.

He rolled across the bed and stood, beckoning me over with his arms open. I all but fell into him, burying my face in his hair and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He just chuckled a bit and pulled me in, kissing my neck and collarbone. 

I struggled to keep my breathing even as he sucked on my skin, pulling a bruise to the surface. I felt my legs go jelly and I had to grab onto him by the hair to not fall down. He sucked in a choked gasp and shuddered against me.

“Do that again,” he urged me, pulling me closer and trailing his hands down my back to grab my ass. He had trouble because of my jeans and pulled me away for a second to unbutton them and slide them down my thighs. 

Now having access, he groped at me again, squeezing hard. My legs started to tremble, I wasn’t sure if I could hold myself up for much longer. I tugged at his hair again and he groaned into my neck, kneading his hands back and forth. 

He flipped us around so he towered over me while I sprawled out on the mattress. He stared at me with dark eyes and ran his hands up my body to hold my head in place.

“You look beautiful,”

I didn’t say anything in response and he leaned down to capture my lips with his own. They were soft and pliant; warm. I hummed a bit and he pressed on, swiping an assertive tongue over my bottom lip. I opened my mouth for him, letting him explore as much as he liked. He still had my face in his hands and I rubbed mine up his arms. He pulled away, biting me as he went. 

“You ready?”

I nodded and sucked on my bottom lip where his teeth were. I watched as he leaned over me to pick up the lube that had been lost in the sheets just a moment ago. I kicked off my jeans the rest of the way and held my breath as he fully stood again, pulling his dark shirt over his head. Watching his lithe body flex just that small amount made my mouth water and I couldn’t help but reach up and beg to touch him.

He saw my pleading and smiled down at me, leaning back over so I could feel him. He was warm and smooth, his skin not having a single imperfection on it. I sighed and pulled myself up to kiss the flesh, just to feel it under my lips.

He sighed in contentment, running gentle fingers through my hair with one hand as he popped the top off the little tub with the thumb of the other. He moved from my hair to my boxers, gently slipping his fingers beneath them and pulling them down. I felt exposed, but safe. 

He lifted me just a bit to completely shed me of my boxers, and to move me from the edge of the bed to the center. I removed my undershirt and watched as he crawled over to hover over me.

Suddenly my lips were on his, and he was lifting one of my legs up to rest on his shoulder. A cool, slippery finger brushed at my entrance and I tensed on instinct. 

“Shh, relax baby,” He whispered in my ear and went to kiss my neck. 

I had fingered myself before, but it was a completely different sensation when someone else was doing it. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was definitely foreign, and I had a little bit of trouble adjusting.

As one finger pushed inside me, I brought up my arms to wrap around his neck and pull him even closer. He laughed a bit, “It’s alright baby, calm down.”

I seethed as the finger sunk in knuckle deep, “Shut up and just do it.”

He laughed a bit louder, pushing another in terribly slow, “That’s not very nice.”

I growled and pushed him back a bit, “If you’re not gonna get on with it and fuck me then you can forget about it.” I felt pretty awkward crossing my arms and pouting with two fingers in my ass.

He shook his head, closing in again, “I’m sorry baby, come here,” He tilted my head up to meet his lips just as he pressed firmly against my prostate, making my back arc high off the sheets. I did my best to hold back a whine, but I didn’t do very well. He chuckled a little more into my mouth, but he was trying to tone it down.

As much as I voiced my displeasure with his laughing, I actually found it stupidly hot and it was only serving to further frustrate me. 

A third finger pushed through, stretching me to near pain. I bit my lip to keep from wiggling, but he noticed and went a little slower, adding more lube with his other hand. It did good to remedy my pain, and he kissed my neck, “Better?”

I nodded, not letting go of my lip. I knew that I would cry out loud if I didn’t hold it back, so I just used my eyes to ask him to keep going. He looked at me in the eyes lovingly for a moment before gently removing his fingers and going to the button of his jeans. 

He undid it and the zipper painfully slow, teasing me. I watched, completely playing into his hand. His hips were slender and toned, pale. He pulled down his boxers along with the jeans, fully exposing himself to me. 

His cock was beautiful, so say it simply. It was long, just a bit girthier than expected. Its skin was smooth and flawless, much like the rest of him. I bit down on my lip harder to control my urges to jump on top of him. 

He shedded them the rest of the way, tossing them to the floor nonchalantly and going back for the lube that he had left off to the side. Watching him stroke himself was painful. I wanted to do that. The lube made him glisten, and I shifted my body own further in anticipation. 

He took a second to look down at me. We were both completely naked, entirely vulnerable, but there was an unspoken trust between us. This wasn’t fucking, it was love-making. I begged him with my eyes, holding my arms up to beckon him down. 

He leaned down to kiss me again, cupping his hand around the back of my neck to pull me up. The warmth felt amazing, both from his hand and his lips. I smile into them, pushing him away, “Come on…”

He bit his bottom lip and leaned back down to rest our heads together. His free hand disappeared below his waist and after just a second I felt something at my entrance, hard and warm. The simple contact alone made me tense. He stopped, letting it fall away. He cupped my face with both hands, forcing me to look up at him.

“Vegeta.”

His tone worried me. My brow furrowed, “What?”

He took a deep breath, looking directly into my eyes, “I love you. You know that, right?”

It took me a second to process what he said to me, that was the first time he told me that he loved me. I smiled wide, doing my best to not tear up. Crying during our first time wasn’t the way I wanted to remember this moment. I pulled him down to kiss me again.

When I pulled away, I grinned even wider, “I know. I love you too, Kakarot.”

He shook his head, “Alright. I just wanted to get that out before anything else. Ready?”

I nodded at him, stealing another quick kiss, “Of course.”

He took himself in his hand again, lining up with me. He looked up into my eyes the moment he pushed through, his eyebrows contorting into what would normally look like pain. He fell to kiss me again, obviously holding back from going too fast. He brushed past my prostate and I groaned, arching up to meet my bare chest with his. With huge effort he pulled away, giving me small kisses between his words.

“You alright?”

I nodded, holding onto the back of his head, “Don’t stop… Please.”

He sighed, pushing further, “God, ‘Geta. I love you. I love you…” He gripped my shoulders, holding me still as I tried arching further up. With my hands still on the back of his head, I pulled hard, making him suck air through his teeth and stall, halfway in.

“‘Geta… You’re makin’ it real hard for me to keep my cool,” His hands came up to take mine away from his hair. The lack of friction was annoying, so I wiggled my hips. That sweet spot was hit again and my hand slapped down on his shoulder, nails cutting just into the skin. He seethed again, half opening one eye at me.

“Don’t make me be rough, please. There’s plenty of time for that later,” His forehead met mine. His breath still smelled like maple syrup, “Just let me make love to you.”

The words made my guts hurt, and I nodded, bringing my hands up and folding them between our chests.

He took a deep sigh, slowly pushing again. He felt amazing. Warm, mostly. He filled me in a way that I didn’t even think possible. Our hips met, and I had to wrap my legs around his waist just to make sure he wouldn’t leave. I moaned out low, trying to keep quiet. He kissed me again, rubbing a thumb on my cheek.

“You’re stunning.”

He started to pull away but my legs locked around him, not letting him move at all. I shook my head.

“No… Stay.”

He smiled and kissed my neck, breathing hotly on me, “Let go, honey. I’m not goin’ anywhere. C’mon…”

With a lot of hesitation, I let go, loosely hanging my legs off him, heels digging into his back. He started to pull out again, the head brushing against me again. I bit my lip to stifle a moan. 

He paused, just barely still inside. He chuckled a bit and I looked up just to see a smirk.

“Stop teasing…” I pouted, shifting around again to encourage him. He just chuckled more, going down to kiss my neck again, “Kaka… Stop…”

He tensed, pushing back into me oh so slowly. I pushed myself down on him just to speed things up. I was so desperate for him that I hardly knew what I was doing.

He lifted from me again, looking into my eyes as he gradually sped up. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open, so I just closed them and reached up for his head again. He dipped down just a bit to give me permission, and as soon as I curled my fingers around his hair and tugged, he tried to hold back a gasp and failed, and his hips moved back and forth quicker.

The friction was perfect, exactly what I wanted right from the start. I tugged harder, earning a frustrated grunt.

It could still be lovemaking if it was rough, right? 

I yanked him down hard, making him stutter for just a second before whispering in his ear.

“Please stop holding back baby. Let me feel you.”

He stopped again, halfway inside, “Vegeta I swear.”

“I’m serious!” I pulled again to prove my need, “I want it. I want it bad. Please?”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Alright. If it’s what you want.”

His hands slowly slid from my face, down my neck, and past my chest to wrap around my waist and lift me up just a little bit.

He moved again, going just as fast as before. The slightly shifted angle made all the difference, and I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep quiet.

He smiled gently down at me and went faster, holding onto my sides hard enough to bruise. It felt so good that it almost hurt, I thrashed around a little, silently begging him to pick it up just a bit more. 

I whipped my head around, my other hand snatching one of his from my waist and trailing up to sit at the base of my neck. He stopped again, looking down at me with genuine concern,

“‘Geta…”

I shook my head, knowing that if I opened my mouth I would cry out loud. I forced his hand to squeeze down just a little bit, and he hesitated.

I clenched my eyes shut, biting down on my lip just enough that I could talk through it.

“Please,” I looked up into his eyes, begging, “Think of it as a trust exercise. I don’t care whatever way you have to rationalize it, just keep your hand on my throat,”

When he still hesitated, I forced us into an upright position, head leaning against his shoulder as I sat on his lap.

“Choke me. Now.”

I took his hand again in both of mine, trailing it softly up my torso to my neck again. He nodded wordlessly, clamping his hand down hard. My vision went white at the new sensation and I tilted my head back to give him more room, biting off a moan that our neighbors would’ve heard. He laid me back down, hand still on my neck, and continued at his almost brutal pace, with his other hand under me to catch the right angle. 

I could hardly keep myself from shaking as he started to quietly moan along with me, grunting with effort. He leaned down to rest our heads together again, pressing his lips against my own every few seconds. 

The bruising force that he used on my prostate was really starting to get to me. It ached in a beautiful way, and there was a tight hotness forming in my hips. I gnarled my hands into the sheets, pulling on them in an effort to gain some sort of purchase on reality. My mind shifted to his throbbing; how violently hard he was. The recognition sparked something in my belly that made me cry out a bit, embarrassingly enough. It was strangled and high and I pressed myself down hard onto him, forcing him as deep as he could go.

He gave his own shuddering gasp, flicking his hips back and forth roughly to sheathe himself inside me over and over.

The combined pleasure of the choking, his pulsing, and the pure depth of him inside me, something broke.

I moaned out again, arching further off the sheets and coming between our stomachs. He followed soon behind, his rhythm stuttering before stalling completely. Something happily warm filled me and I shifted around to get my arms over his shoulders. I pulled him down onto my chest, kissing his forehead and mouth, still kind of moaning. His hand had long since left my neck but I couldn’t exactly recall when.

We laid there for a while, softening against each other, soaked in sweat. We kept kissing, running hands everywhere and breathing the same air.

He flipped us around so we laid next to each other instead of his full weight pressing on me. We both hissed through our teeth when he slipped out of me, finally losing contact between us.

He pulled me close, pressing his face into my shoulder. He lined my skin with kisses and hot, deep breaths. I lifted his head to lay a gentle kiss on his mouth and relaxed into my pillow.

“Kaka?”

He grunted, rolling over and throwing a long arm around my waist. 

I paused, watching his eyes move under the lids, “Will you play one of your songs for me?”

A slow smile spread the width of his face, pushing his cheeks up to almost entirely hide his eyes, “Sure, babe.”


End file.
